Fallen from Mighty
by Icey-Authoress
Summary: Batman's missing; Robin is a wreck; the Justice League are pulling the little bird from Young Justice; both Leagues are arguing and fighting; and Roy is just plan angry! *RATED K  FOR POSSIBLE DEATH AND VIOLENCE LATER ON*
1. Unaware, little Birdie

**Yay, a Young Justice fanfic! Ok, I know I'm kinda being a little sloppy, starting two fanfics at once, but, what-the-hey! So, here goes: "FALLEN FROM MIGHTY"! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything…at all….what so ever….NOTHING!**

* * *

><p>Robin walked into the living room of Mount Justice, typing absently on his holographic, wrist computer. M'gann was in the kitchen, baking some sort of concoction, while Superboy watched Wally flip through the channels on the TV. Kaldur sat at the counter chatting with M'gann. Robin barely took note of any of this; something was wrong. Way wrong.<p>

It was the one week a month that the team spent fully prepared and armed at the Mountain, alone, ready to spring into action when the League called. It didn't have to be Batman calling in to give a mission; they were more or less back up. With the occasionally visits from Red Tornado and Black Canary, the mountain was theirs.

Now that was alright. It was rather fun when they didn't have a mission. Just hanging out with friends and acting like they actually had _normal_ lives. But this week wasn't normal; there had been no word from the League; Red Tornado had visited, but no Black Canary; and for the millionth time that week, Robin couldn't contact Batman.

Today, Thursday, was no different. As Robin absently walked to the large TV screen that could also be used to contact the League, he called up information on Bruce Wayne – Batman's civilian identity. Wally took note of this and immediately went rigid. The speedster was the only sidekick who knew Robin's identity – aside of Red Arrow, that is.

Wally, in civilian clothes and munching on a bag of chips, supersped besides the preoccupied bird. "What're you doing, Rob?" He asked as nonchalant as possible, trying to mask the information that was every present in the speedster's mind.

"Checkin' somethin'…" Robin muttered in reply. There were no new articles in the _Gotham Tributarian _about the billionaire, so Robin shut down his computer. He came to rest in front of the television, unaware that the whole Young Leaguers' eyes were trained on him: Kaldur in wisdom and understanding, M'gann's in sympathy, Wally's in somewhat fear, and Superboy's in a mix of confusion and anger for blocking the show he had been watching.

Robin looked up at the large screen and requested, "Contact Batman."

A soft voice answered: "Contacting now…"

The screen flashed to a black background with a _please wait _signal, followed soon after by a _Contact unfound, connection lost_ signal. Robin frowned and started pacing the little space between the living room and kitchen space. It was unlike Batman not to answer to his protégé. Wally exchanged a somewhat knowing glance with M'gann. She nodded and reached into the cupboard, bringing out a box of Molasses cookies: Robin's favorite!

"Robin, Wally told me Molasses cookies were your favorite, so I bought some last time I went shopping. Do you want some?" She smiled kindly at the boy who barely registered what she had said.

_WHERE WAS BATMAN?_

"Oh, thank you…" He mumbled, take the box and biting into the first cookie he came in contact with. Wally appeared suddenly (he's very good at doing that, you know) and threw a lazy arm around his friend.

"Come on, Robbie! Batman'll be fine!" _No he won't. _"He's probably just really busy with catching the baddies; you know the way he is!" _He may never catch a baddie again._ "Don't worry, by the end of the week you'll be safe at home in Gotham with him, munching on this cookies together…" Now he was just pushing it. Robin had been actually caught up with what Wally was saying until the part about munching on cookies together; Batman hated anything too sweet and that included cookies. His frown was brought back on his face and he resumed pacing.

Kaldur reached out a comforting hand and rested it on Robin's passing shoulder, stalling the boy. "You're mentor is fine." _No he's not._ "If he wasn't, the League would have contacted us by now." _They did._

M'gann joined in. "Try to get some rest, Robin. You haven't slept very well this week; we can tell." She smiled her kind smile and turned back to cookie to hide the tears in her eyes.

Robin nodded and Kaldur took the box from the boy's tired hands while Wally placed a gentle, guiding arm around his friend's small shoulders. They had finally convinced the Boy Wonder of something when the masquerade was broken by one person's appearance.

_Recognizing, Red Arrow, 02_

"WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU GUYS WHEN BATMAN VANISHED IN MADRID?"

Red Arrow froze in his tracks when he saw Robin standing, frozen by his older brother's words. "Wha-what did you say?" he weakly asked. Wally gave his signature way-to-go-moron glare to Red Arrow, removing his arm from the Boy Wonder. Unknown to his friends, Robin's world began to spin dangerously and his vision misted. Something, in the back of his mind, probed him with icy cold fingers that groped at his heart like a distant memory…

* * *

><p>'<em>We are en route to Madrid, Spain, where there have been countless attacks from numerous violent vigilantes: Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, the Joker…' Superman informed the Mountain. 'I think this week will be pretty relaxed for you kids.'<em>

_Robin remembered seeing himself frown. 'The Joker?'_

_Superman cleared his throat and stuttered a little. 'Um, well…' His face hardened. 'We can handle a few marble-cases, Robin. Stay put at the Mountain. Justice League out!'_

* * *

><p><strong>So, a little cliff-hanger, yeah… Anywho, gonna upload some RoyKF/Robin oneshots later on today…maybe….yeah, prob not… Anyways, I was surprised how good this actually came out! I had started it out differently, then ended up throwing out the original and starting over. Much better if I do say so myself!**

**Aww, Roy's mad. XD Anyway, review, por favor? ARIGATO! Danke! Yadda, yadda, yadda! (man, three cups of sweet iced tea was not a good idea…)**


	2. Grieving and Questions

**Another Fallen from Mighty chapter…Here we go! Thanks for all the views on the last chapter, people! I was really surprised and sorta freaked out with all the attention… Never had so many people viewing my work on anything before. :D You guys really don't know how much I appreciate all the traffic it got; so, I genuinely thank you.**

* * *

><p>The flashback sent Robin reeling more than he would have liked. The mist turned to darkness and voices faded. Memories flashed in front of his eyes, but not quite reachable yet. Memories of a magical night in a circus tent, The Flying Graysons act soaring; the Flying Grayson act, falling; a boy left, parentless, in a deserted world. A kind man, unknown to the Graysons, taking their little bird under his wing to rear as his own: Bruce Wayne. A strict man, but gentle when need be.<p>

Richard Grayson, 6 years old, exploring a little inlet behind the grandfather clock; Richard, finding out Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight; Richard Grayson, becoming the Robin his mom always knew he was. Justice League headquarters, Speedy leaving, Batman's glare on the boy's retreating back. Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin all coming to the decision that they needed their mentors' permission to start Young Justice; and Batman's glare, filled with pride and a little fear as his bird flew out of the nest for the first time.

And the memories weren't just of working with the League; no, they were of playing basketball in the court of Wayne Manor with Bruce, of eating Molasses cookies and drinking milk with Alfred the butler - but he was more than a butler. He was Robin's friend, grandfather. School, science, math, friends like Wally and Roy… Homework, watching TV, business meetings at Wayne Tech. No, it wasn't just memories anymore, it was his life he was reliving…

He forced himself to focus as his numb body swayed. Tears stung his face. Batman? Vanished? The Joker… As if that one thought could make or break his world, Robin felt himself return to reality. He had only blanked for a few moments, and in those few moments, a shouting match had ensued between Wally and Roy.

Roy: "You didn't tell him?"

Wally: "I didn't want to break him! He's already-"

Roy: "Already what? Hm? What is he? A frail little China doll that your aunt collects? He's a human being that I'm sure was going through Hell wondering where Batman was!"

Kaldur: "We should all try to calm down and work through this-"

Roy: "Stay out of this, Water-boy! It's not your family we're talking about!"

Kaldur: "It's Aqualad!"

Kaldur had been dragged into the shouting match somehow, apparently trying to stop it. M'gann and Superboy stood by with confused looks on their faces. Robin swallowed, trying to steady his voice, knowing that the tears that were staining his face had certainly hurt it. He took a step toward the cluster of his friends that seemed to be standing miles off. Wally caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and stopped arguing.

Five sets of eyes turned to look at Robin. They'd forgotten he was standing there he had been so quiet. He tried to say something but clicked his jaw shut, first trying to stop the tears. Roy stepped forward with open arms in comfort. Robin looked at him with a pained expression and leapt forward, letting out a heart wrenching sob.

Roy quickly enveloped the youngest member of the Young League. He held the boy above the ground like one would do to a toddler. Richard concealed his face in Roy's neck, not wanting his friends to see him cry, even if it was a little too late. Roy rubbed the Boy Wonder's back gently and muttered 'idiots' so it was just barely audible. Wally looked like he was about to retort something, but thought better of it.

Roy held the scared boy closer. He had missed the young bird's embraces when Roy would visit. Roy used to be very close to Bruce Wayne, and would even come by to watch Dick when the 'master' was out. They had grown close, like siblings. Now, Roy had to be the big brother even more; but he would do it.

Running a hand through the raven-black hair when the boy in his arms had stilled some, he looked at the rest of the people in the room. "When were you going to tell him?" he ground out through gritted teeth.

Kaldur stepped forward. "We weren't going to tell him until the League told us to."

Roy's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "So now you listen to the League? Ever think of what was best for Robin?" He pulled the boy closer.

Superboy spoke up in his deep voice. "The League assured us it was in Robin's best interest if we didn't inform him of Batman's disappearance until they were sure-"

"Sure? Sure? Sure of what?" Wally was, ironically, taking Roy's side in the argument. "Sure that Batman wasn't just doing a solo thing, alone?"

A tiny, sleepy voice emanated from Roy's shoulder. "That is kinda what solo means, KF… Alone." Dick's voice hitched on the last word and Wally moved to Roy's side, placing a reassuring hand on the Boy Wonder's shoulder. Robin whimpered and buried his head deeper into Roy's shoulder.

The team shrunk back as two redheads glared at them. Roy shifted so he could look at Wally. "I think we'd better take Dick to bed. He needs his rest." Wally nodded, deciding that, for the best of Dick, it was best if he didn't correct the archer on his choice of name use.

Instead, the normally hyper-speedster led the deserter-archer to his shared room with Dick. The room was a little small, with a bunk-bed that was obviously Wally's(the mess told all) and the other half of the room was taken up by a single bed, a wardrobe, and a few desks .Wally pulled back the comforter and sheets on Dick's bed so Roy could lay the boy in the folds of fabric. Dick sighed as Roy's warmth left him. His eyes opened slightly behind the tinted glasses he was forced to wear; but Dick didn't think that notion in anger. He thought of how loving Bruce was to protect him like this.

While Wally shifted through a small chest at the foot of Dick's bed, Roy removed the Boy Wonder's glasses and set the folder pair on the bedside table. Wally gave a little grunt of satisfaction when he found what he was looking for: a stuffed toy, a robin, nonetheless. Roy knelt on the ground besides Dick's bed and pulled the covers over the boy's lithe frame. Wally tucked the stuffed bird under the comforter with Dick, and then resumed a position sitting by Dick's feet on the bed.

Both redheads watched as the icey-blue eyes of their best friend closed. Roy left the room a few minutes after Dick had settled, but Wally would stay through the night, munching on a chocolate bar now and then to keep his over active metabolism healthy, even if he wasn't hungry. Questions swirled in both Leagues that night:

Where was Batman?

And what would become of Richard Grayson?

* * *

><p><strong>I think the ending was a little rushed… Anyway, thank you all for all the views again! :D Off to try and get the oneshots up… That's going to take some time, though… Anyway, ENJOY! And, just for reference, Robin will be going through many emotional stages throughout this story; this is just the first stage.<strong>


	3. Coping and Where's Alfred

**Oh, wow, I just realized there's no Artemis in here! MWAHAHA! Sorry Artemis fans, but I absolutely SCORN that archer… Don't know why, but she really grates on my nerves! Anywho, *STAGE TWO* of Robin's emotional breakdown…**

* * *

><p>Roy wasn't sure who to yell at first. He was pacing furiously in the kitchenliving room district of Mount Justice. And he was angry: angry at Young Justice for not thinking about Robin; angry at the League for telling Young Justice, but not Robin; angry at Young Justice for listening to the League in not telling Robin; angry at Kid Flash for not thinking about the mental state Robin had been in; angry at the League for not telling Red Arrow sooner – No, they hadn't even told him! He had found out through meeting Green Arrow in Star City on patrol; he had to find out _behind the League's back_! And then there was Superman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and…himself…

His yelling would probably go something like this:

At Young Justice for not thinking about Robin: "What the heck? You call yourself a team? You weren't ready to help Robin cope with Batman's vanishing act! I thought comrades helped each other! Guess not, huh?"

At the League for not telling Robin: "That was just plan harsh! Don't you even get how close the two of them are? Robin must've already suspected something way before you morons even realized Bats was missing!"

At Young Justice for listening to the League: "Once again, let's go over _team-friendship _and _comradeship_, which, might I add, is extremely important to Boy Wonder…!"

At Kid Flash: "He trusts you! Did you even think about him, at all? _'Oh no, I just didn't want to get on the bad side of the League'_! That didn't stop me in leaving!"

At the League for not telling Red Arrow: "I'm the closest thing he's got to family besides Bruce! You couldn't just leave me out of the loop like that! How dare you dictate what's best for Dick! You don't know him like I do!"

And himself: "Roy, you moron! If you had stayed behind, this wouldn't have happened! If you had stayed in contact with your little birdie a little more, you could have been a lot more useful than just blurting it out right in front of the kid!"

No, Roy wouldn't yell all those words spinning around in his head; instead, he'd just bang his head against the wall and growled in anger as it didn't help…

.._~_

Kaldur'ahm stared in bewilderment as Red Arrow repeatedly banged his head against the wall. _He's acting like Supey… We're in trouble…_

_.._~_  
><em>

M'gann turned from the head-banging archer to her cookies she was trying to bake. Cooking always relieved tension for her, so why wasn't it working now…?

.._~_

And Superboy…well, Superboy was oblivious, watching his 'Black-and-White' line show…

.._~_

Roy finally stopped banging his head and rested it heavily against the wall, gritting his teeth to quell the anger that was boiling inside him. It was going to be a long night of waiting…

.._~_

The next morning, Roy sat at the bar staring down into a steaming cup of coffee. He had long since removed his mask and the steam rolled off his glazed blue eyes. Superboy happily munched at a doughnut and M'gann tried her luck again at making cookies. Kaldur-ahm watched the team from the living room. No one had said very much, if anything, since Roy and Wally had taken Dick – that was Robin's civilian identity, right? – to bed. Wally hadn't immerged from the room, and no one really expected the speedster and acrobat to walk into the kitchen at 7:35 AM.

Everyone seemed to move at once: Roy toppled over the stool he was sitting on while M'gann dropped the platter of cookies and Superboy his doughnut. Kaldur'ahm was a bit more subtle and stood silently in the living room. Wally stood a few steps behind Dick. The youngest member clutched what appeared to be a stuffed bird to his chest; his hair was messy; he wasn't wearing anything to cover his eyes, a beautiful cool-blue, crystallized color that shocked his teammates. Wally was passing his eyes over the team in a cold manner that was very un-Wally; it ordered _'say-the-wrong-thing-and-you-die'_.

Dick rested his eyes on Roy. "I want to see Alfred…" He whispered. "I want to go home…"

Superboy spoke up. "I thought you couldn't contact Batman's helper-" Aaaand, cue Wally's death glare…

.._~_

Roy kept looking in the rearview mirror at Dick. The boy hadn't said anything since his request to go back to Gotham. At first, the archer had been reluctant to take the boy home; Roy just wanted to keep Richard safe. And his type of safe wasn't exactly taking Richard back to such a close location to the Batcave. All the same, Roy ended up giving in and driving Dick to Gotham City.**{1} **Dick had taken the rear seat, leaned his head against the window, and hadn't moved yet; the Boy Wonder still clutched the little bird-toy in his hands.

They arrived at the Wayne Manor. Roy quietly drove up the driveway to the front door. The Manor was unusually still. Roy put the car in park and pulled the key out of the ignition. For a few moments they sat in strained silence before Roy turned around in his seat, the leather upholstery creaking. He looked at Dick who finally moved and faced Roy.

"You ready, Dick…?" Roy asked quietly, merely above a whisper.

He nodded, and the dup stepped from the car. Roy pocketed the keys and was about ready to move forward when he felt Richard's hand slip into his larger one. Roy looked down at the boy. Dick was staring with wide eyes at the large doors that where the entrance to the manor; why was the manor so still? Dick still held onto the bird-toy, and Roy started the slow walk up the manor's large front steps.

The door was ajar, and Roy immediately tensed. Dick looked up at him with large, innocent eyes and he smiled reassuringly down at the boy; why did he want to run from this place so bad?

Dick smiled back and he pushed open the large barrier. He walked into the great hall and called out:

"Alfred! Alfred? Alfred, are you home…?"

Roy looked around the great hall. It was exactly that: great, with many painted pictures hanging on the wall; there was a staircase to the right, and an archway to the left. Dick turned to the left, and his face paled. Roy rushed forward and placed a protective hand on Dick's shoulder while peering into the next room. What he was met with was unexpected.

The room looked like it might have been a dining room at one point; now it was just a mess. The table was smashed in the middle, broken in two pieces, the chair legs where torn off from the chair body and strewn around the room. Papers, delicate china pieces, and serving trays were scattered and broken throughout the room. Splinters of wood were everywhere, and there were bullet holes in the wall…

Dick screamed, did a 180*, and bolted up the stairs. Roy quickly followed, scooping up the bird-toy Dick had dropped. Upstairs was worse… The pictures in the hallways were torn apart, knife marks cutting not only in the paper but also in a little boy's heart. Roy ran to Dick's room. It consisted of a sitting room that then led to a magnificent bed; a small door led to the bathroom. It, too, was ransacked.

Roy barely comprehended the mess around him as his eyes fell on the silent form of Richard, kneeling in the mess, staring open mouthed at the largest painting in the whole house that hung above his fire place.

.._~_

Dick screamed at the mess that was in front of him. He didn't want to stare at it any longer, so he turned around and ran, dropping his precious bundle on the way. He took the stairs two at a time and didn't stop running until he reached his sanctuary. Bruce had told Dick when the painting of a Mr. and Mrs. Grayson arrived that every time Dick was upset, he could visit his parents, his solace, his family.

He wasn't too surprised when his bedroom was the same mess he had so far witnessed in his home; though Richard was surprised, and in total shock and denial, when his blue eyes rested themselves on the large portrait that hung over the grand fireplace. A chill swept over him as he stopped in his bolt. He fell to his knees and stared open mouthed at the sight of his parents. Tears slowly fell from his face in anger and sadness; whoever was behind this crime was sick…sick, SICK, **SICK, **_**SICK!**_

Dick didn't even notice Roy enter, nor his reaction. His only thoughts were directed at the painting of what should have been his parents. The painting was torn down the middle as if someone had stabbed at the painting and ripped the knife toward the ground. There were other cuts that red paint - made to look like blood – poured from, mostly on the Mr. and Mrs. Grayson. The paint also enveloped the Graysons and the words 'HAHA' were clearly visible on the large golden frame.

Sick, SICK, **SICK****, **_**SICK**__**!**_

* * *

><p>{1} I'm actually not quite sure the location of either Mount Justice, nor Gotham City, thus, I just randomly typed something out... :

**Ok, so the ending was kinda rushed and it is kind along, so my apologies. Anywho: OMG, WHERE'S ALFRED? WHO DID THIS? Unfortunately, I'm not even sure yet…I'm just letting the current take me at the moment…Normally, I would know…**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy!**


	4. Speedy's Real Reason

**So, this is what you get when you put a bored Icey-Authoress in front of her computer, listening to music while her brain flatlines… An off day for me…and I feel terrible! Oh, and Speedy and Robin talk about Speedy leaving in the first episode…**

.._~_

Roy placed a chipped cup of chocolate milk in front Dick. After Richard had seen his parents' portrait defaced the way it was, he clicked his jaw shut, stood up, and marched downstairs. Roy had tried to hand back the bird-toy, but the boy had rejected it without a word. He was now donning his sunglasses again, and his lips were pulled in a thin, thoughtful line.

Roy had quietly followed Richard at a safe distance. Dick led the archer to the kitchen where the younger one sat on an unbroken stool while Roy looked around in the broken fridge for something to try and brighten the Boy Wonder; not that anything could cheer the child.

So far, a monster – an unknown, but very suspicious monster – had ripped the two most precious items from Richard: the only physical memory of his parents, and his adopted-father; not to mention the fact that they couldn't find Alfred. Roy clenched his fists and pulled out an open carton of chocolate milk. He searched the messy floor for an unbroken cup, and miraculously found one. Pouring the dark liquid in the clear glass, he placed it in front of the brooding boy.

Dick stared at the substance for a few moments, before slowly sipping the drink. The tips of his mouth curved upwards a little, but then he looked around at his surroundings, and the thin lips and creased brows were back. Roy frowned and swallowed some milk straight from the carton. Dick leaned forward and folded his arms on the counter.

"You know, if Alfred saw you doing that he would yell at you and give you housecleaning for a week…"

Roy grinned. At least the kid wasn't totally focused on his loss…

But his thoughts weren't true. Dick's brow furrowed and he gave Roy a look that was definitely learned from Batman: a _now-I'm-serious-and-we-need-to-talk_ look. Roy frowned, but put the milk aside and leaned forward, devoting his whole attention to the thirteen-year-old.

"Speedy, I need to find Batman and Alfred; before it's too late." Dick had used 'Speedy'; not 'Roy' – 'SPEEDY'! He was dead serious…He wasn't Dick, helpless, fatherless Dick – he was back to Robin. And he was angry.

Speedy swallowed. "Robby, are you sure you should be doing this? I mean, a day after finding out about Batman?"

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Batman's been missing for a little under a week, and I just learned about it last night; I think it's actually a little late to be helping in any way, but I'm game. Don't get me wrong, I believe in Batman more than anyone; but it's who he's up against that's got me worried…"

Speedy frowned more – if that's even possible. "Who, Robin? Who has you worried and ready to charge into an unknown abyss? Who scares you and Batman so much that you couldn't even breathe at your parents' portrait upstairs? I know it wasn't just the fact that it was your parents; something else is going on behind those masked eyes and I need to know what!"

Robin glared at him. "Why do you need to know? It doesn't concern you…"

"It concerns you and that's plenty to get me involved!"

Robin's face fell. They sat in silence for a while before the Boy Wonder spoke up again. "But you left…" His voice was low, almost a whisper.

Speedy let out a deep breath. "I did, and I'm sorry…"

Robin nodded. "Why did you leave us…me?"

Speedy pulled himself up on the counter and faced Robin. "I didn't want to leave you; if anything, I wanted you to see your potential and follow me. I wanted you to become something greater!"

Robin frowned and tipped his head to the side. "I couldn't leave; can't leave… Speedy, Batman is more than just my mentor, he's my father; the only family I have left. He took me in when no one else would; I couldn't, and I won't ever, turn my back on him."

It was Speedy's turn to nod. "I understand that, Robin… I felt like Green Arrow was more than just a mentor to me, too. Like an uncle that I never had **{1}**. I never wanted you to do what was wrong, but I also wanted you to have a chance…"

Robin straightened his head and looked at Speedy with a questioning glance. "Why did you leave? 'Cause all you've been saying is stuff about me; but why did you leave?"

Speedy paused for what felt like eternity. "I left because I was angry at the League; they didn't trust us!" Speedy got off the counter and Robin could tell he was angry by his body language: clenched fists, straight back, tensed muscles, rigid shoulders. But Speedy relaxed and turned back around.

"But what I really wanted, more than to spite the League, was for you – and Kid Flash - to recognize what you were capable of. And you did! You actually stood up to your mentors and told them you wanted a team. You finally understood that you could stand away from your mentor's shadow, but within arm's reach; in a safety zone where you could make your own decisions! And I have never been more proud of you for that…"

Robin gaped, but quickly regained his composure to one of hurt. "Then why haven't you come back to join us?"

"Because my potential isn't with you and Young Justice."

"But, we can always do with an archer! Whether you have greater experience than any of us!"

Speedy chuckled. "Robin, you have the most experience, being the one who was a sidekick the longest."

"But-"

"No, Robin! Don't you get it? You've spread your wings and are flying! You're flying! I can't stand too close to you without making you fall…"

Robin shook his head and stood from the stool. Now he was the one who was angry; frustrated. "No, no I don't get it! Roy, you can always be on the team! You won't make me fall; if anything, you'll make me soar higher!" Robin shook lightly with emotion; he missed Roy.

Speedy took a step forward. "Robin, I may not be officially on the team, but you know I've always been there for you, watching you as you grew stronger and more adept with your skills. You may never have noticed me in the shadows while you trained with Black Canary at Mount Justice, but it took all my will power not to cheer you own. You will always be my little brother, Robin; and I will always be right there whenever you need me…"

Robin took a few moments to comprehend exactly what Speedy had said, but when he did he walked forward and lightly embraced his older companion. "Speedy, I hope someday you'll come to the realization I need you closer than the shadows… and I hope it's soon because I need you now more than ever."

Speedy returned the embrace, and when they separated they were all business once again.

"I will stand by you, Robin. But I must know: exactly who are we going to go after?"

Robin glared at something – or someone - in the distance. "Only one person is sick enough to destroy everything I have ever cared about; sick enough, dumb enough, mean enough, _missing a few screws_, if you get what I mean. And only person has it out for me and Bats; and only one person has the guts to pour red blood all over my parents and write 'HAHA' as an invitation…

"The Joker."

.._~_

**Ok, before I go off ranting on random stuff, I have a music prompt/request for anyone who feels like it. It's not a Young Justice prompt (though it could be), but I'm more directing it toward Beyblade with Kai and Tala. Ok, I have the song _Things Left Unsaid by Disciple_ in minD. I want to say, that I really have no preference in which way the story goes; all I have to say is that you, as a writer, listen to the song and write what comes to mind! I also want to say that even though the song doesn't end happy, there can be happy endings hidden. So, go have fun with it! :D**

**Ohh, I liked this one… I had a lot of fun writing the talk about Speedy leaving. Oooh, the Joker is behind this! Creepy *insert bad word here*! (sorry, I don't cuss, sooo….)**

**{1} I'm nto exactly sure on Speedy's background, family information, or relationship to Green Arrow, soooo, I just made something up on the spot…**

**PLEASE REVIEW THIS ONE!**


	5. Pulled from the Team

**SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I was sick and couldn't really focus on Fallen from Mighty. So, enjoy this and hopefully I will be getting the chapters out faster for you readers.**

.._~_

Roy and Robin made it safely back to Mount Justice. The car ride was silent, each one in their own thoughts. Robin was already planning on where they might find the Joker, and Speedy was debating whether he was making the right decision. Eventually, Speedy decided that he was making the right decision and relaxed for the rest of the ride; Robin needed to find Batman, and Speedy would help even if the rest of the team wouldn't.

Speedy parked the car at the base of the mountain and they entered through the back door. Robin stalked through the kitchen and living room area where the rest of the team was located: M'gann and Wally in the kitchen, with Superboy and Kaldur'ahm in the living room. Speedy marched behind the athlete and ordered, "Meeting; now!"

The four teammates hesitantly followed in confusion. The group reached the center of Mount Justice: the training room, rec room, name it this room is it! Speedy stood in the center, strapping on his quiver over his hero-suit while Robin stood, back facing his teammates, pulling on his domino mask. Speedy also pulled on his mask and Robin turned back to his team, decked out in his colorful outfit.

"Rob, what's going on?" Wally asked uncertainly. "Why're you suited up?"

The two League members glanced at each other, grim faced, before Speedy stepped forward to answer. "As you know, Batman went missing at the beginning of this week. Robin found out about this last night due to me storming in here without thinking…" Speedy turned to face Robin. "And for that I apologize." Robin nodded before picking up where the archer left off.

"Today, I went back home in Gotham to talk to my mentor's helper." Robin called up the computer and showed a picture of Alfred. "I suppose if you are to help me, it's useless to keep my, or Batman's identity a secret. This is our butler and helper, Alfred. He works in Batman's - Bruce Wayne's mansion, where I, Richard Grayson, live." He replaced the holo-computer.

M'gann's face was of some confusion, but mostly it was screwed up in shock. Superboy seemed to take the news in stride, but he rarely showed any emotions to news except anger. Kaldur'ahm calmly let the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and Wally already knew Robin's identity.

Robin continued before his teammates could react. "Alfred and Batman have been captured. Not only that, but the culprit also ransacked my home! He destroyed everything that has ever meant anything to me. He destroyed Alfred's kitchen, the dining room, my living room! And if destroying my home – the place of comfort and love – and capturing my father and grandfather-figure wasn't enough, he also destroyed the only physical memory of my parents…" Robin shook with anger and his hands were balled into fists, nails digging past his armored gloves into his pale skin.

Speedy took over the briefing. "The Joker, Batman's arch nemesis, is behind this. He left us a very demented invitation on Robin's portrait in his room." Wally paled; he knew that portrait was Richard's parents and that it meant everything to the Boy Wonder. "Now, I'm sure you all know how dangerous this deranged circus clown is, but Robin is asking for your assistance. I am joining Robin in his pursuit, but I do believe that the more friends that stand besides Robin, the better we can bring down this criminal."

Wally cautiously walked forward and placed calming hands on Robin's shoulders. Robin looked up into Wally's green eyes and relaxed some. Wally looked up at Speedy with determination in his eyes. "I'm coming; I don't care what the others do, but I'm coming…" Wally took his place next to Robin, leaving a firm hand on the teenager.

The left over teenagers shared strained glances before Kaldur'ahm stepped forward. "Robin, we understand your need to extract revenge-"

"This is nothing about revenge, Kaldur…" the Boy Wonder replied in a steady voice. "Thi sis about getting back what is most important to me…"

Kaldur retracted and M'gann tried. "Perhaps you should contact the League, Robin; I'm sure they could help you…"

Before Robin could reply, the screens appeared behind the Young Justice and Superman appeared on the screen. "No one is leaving the Mount; especially not you, Robin…" The team faced the Man of Steel.

"Why not? What are you doing about this? Hmm? Is anything being done to find Batman?" Robin spoke up with defiance in his voice.

Superman glowered at the bird. "We are trying to get back to Spain where Batman was last spotted, but it's impossible. The Spain Embassy is stating that they do not want our help after the messy, dangerous incident with Batman…" Superman stopped, realizing he had said too much.

Wally stepped forward. "What has happened, Supes?"

Superman glared at the speedster. "Nothing to concern yourselves about; stay at the Mountain until further directions are given. Green Arrow will be by to pick Robin up shortly." Superman was about to log off, when Superboy actually stepped forward to contradict the reason the super-boy was alive.

"Why would Green Arrow come to pick Robin up?" Superboy questioned angrily.

Superman was a little shocked at this, but quickly regained his composure. Robin butted in before Superman could respond. "Yeah, I'm kind of curious as to what is happening! And I want to know what's going on!"

Superman turned to Robin. "You're not going to like what you hear…"

Red Arrow crossed his arms angrily and stood behind Wally and Robin. "Spit it out, Muscle Man! I want answers…"

Superman took a deep breath and glanced his eyes over the team in front of him. He sighed before returning to the steel cold mask that he wore often.

"You are being pulled from the team and taken into the protective custody of the Justice League until further notice."

.._~_

**Sooo, this didn't turn out the way I planned… Anywho, hope the wait was worth it!**


	6. Protective Custody

**YAY! Here's the next chapter… Wonder how Robin's going to react! And Roy; I hope he has another tantrum! Tee-he-he! Anywho, I did this when yet again my brain was flatlining, so it's really horrible!**

.._~_

There was an uneasy, deafening silence that followed and in that time both Kid Flash and the enraged Red Arrow stepped back from the stiff Boy Wonder. Red Arrow glared daggers through the Man of Muscle on the screen and Wally took a quick sidestep away from the archer; he was radiating anger and heat!

And then came the blow that sliced through the thick air:

"You WHAT?" M'gann yelped and Kaldur flinched; Wally winced, and Red Arrow narrowed his eyes; and Superboy had no response. Robin's eyes widened and narrowed repeatedly in anger and confusion. "You can't pull me from the team! I've got to find Batman! You don't know what the Joker is capable of! Do you even have any clues as to where to start? No, of course you don't!" The Boy Wonder threw his hands up in the air and turned from the screen.

"You couldn't even keep an eye on Batman, let alone any villains!" Superman looked shock at how disrespectful Robin was. The boy turned back to the screen. "The Joker has Batman; do you even know what he's done so far? Not only Batman, but Alfred and my house is a wreck and the portrait has been totally _defaced_! But do you care if I have more intel on the Joker than the League? Nooo! You just decide to place me in 'protective custody', whatever the heck that means, and pull me from the team! I-"

"Batman's orders." Green Arrow cut in from the transporter; apparently his entrance had gone unnoticed due to Robin's rant.

Robin softened and his face fell. "Wh-what do you mean: 'Batman's orders'?"

Roy still glared at the Man of Steel, acting like his previous-mentor hadn't even spoke. Green Arrow walked past Roy, trying to get his attention somehow; it failed miserably. He turned back to Robin, but Superman answered for him. "You are wrong when you say that we have no information on Batman or the Joker; and it's not the Joker that has him. It's Poison Ivy. She let us speak with Batman briefly…" Green Arrow noticed how Superman left out all the injuries the Dark Knight had. "…and he said that Poison Ivy wanted you, too, Robin. So, his plan was for us to take you into our protective custody; you will be safe in the League headquarters."

Robin's face was blank and his lips were parted partially, sucking air in slowly. The world spun before him. Roy tipped his head to the side and watched the Boy Wonder process the information, before glaring at his previous-mentor. "Nice going, Oliver." Roy walked to Robin and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders from behind.

Green Arrow was confused. "What did I do?"

The team slowly faded to the background and watched as their teammate tried to comprehend the information that had been a slap to the face. Roy squeezed the tense shoulders and bent to whisper in Robin's ear. "You know, we can make a quick escape and continue with our plan, if you want. Or you can go with the League and let them handle it. It's up to you, but I promised to help you and I won't back down from that…" The older teen straightened and continued to glare at Green Arrow.

Robin straightened his shoulders, set a determined look on his face and stepped out of Roy's touch. "No…" He whispered softly, just audible to the archer. "No, I'll play their game; for a little while." He turned to face the archer. "Maybe I can find some more information on Batman. I'll keep in contact; just for one day, maybe two. I need to hack their systems and get the information they have."

Roy smirked and nodded; somehow he knew the athlete was going to choose that option. "Guess you'll be the first sidekick to see the League's HQ; bet your team won't be too happy about that," Roy voiced Robin's choice and Green Arrow relaxed some, while Superman logged off the computer screen.

Boy Wonder packed, said goodbye to his team mates, even cried a little when saying goodbye to Wally; maybe he was over playing the 'poor protégé' a little too thick. But even after this display, Robin still glared the whole ride back to the Justice Hall. He was transported into space to the HQ; and he was in total shock as to what met him at the League's top secret, outer space headquarters.

.._~_

**Roy: So, that was lame…**

**Icey: Shut up, or I won't tell you where I hid your quiver!**

**Roy: *frowns***

**Robin: Wait! I know my house was trashed by Joker; he's the only one who is demented enough to trash my parents' portrait!**

**Icey: Yes, he is!**

**Robin: But Poison Ivy has Batman...**

**Icey: Yes she does...**

**Robin: So why does Ivy have Batman, and the Joker trashed by place? And where's Alfred?**

**Icey: *sigh* It's all a tangled web of mystery, ain't it? You'll have to wait and find out!  
><strong>

**So, this was a total flop…Too short... I think I'm going to go see if Whatever Life Brings goes any better… So, until later, this is Icey! *waves***


	7. Prepare for being Unprepared

**Yeah, Whatever Life Brings didn't work out so hot, so I decided come back to Fallen from Mighty. I couldn't leave you guys for a week with that lovely cliffhanger, now could I? :D**

**Reina Grayson: ****If I'm not happy with the next chapter, I'm coming after you, taking you into the DC Universe to Gotham, and letting Batman dangle you off a building. That is all**

**Icey: I am so dead… **

**I truly hope you people don't kill me for this chapter; even though I'm quite sure you will murder me in every possible way for what is to come… I even have to hide from the Young Justice League 'cause they hate me, too… But not to worry! Everything will be resolved shortly!**

.._~_

_And he was in total shock as to what met him at the League's top secret, outer space headquarters._

Nothing… Absolutely nothing met the Boy Wonder. There was a flash of light and a few milliseconds where he floated in space before being dragged back through the bright lighted teleporter to earth. And in those few seconds Robin saw debris: rocks, meteors, flecks of metal, and, yes, blood.

'_Access to Watchtower denied.'_

At first, Robin wasn't sure he had seen or heard correctly. "What?"

Green Arrow tried to awaken the teleporter again. There was a harsh whir and then a loud bang as the machine powered down.

'_Watchtower teleporter damaged beyond repair; oxygen level in Tower dropping rapidly; air pressure increasing; connection lost…'_

The machine's kind, feminine voice repeated what she had previously said and Robin rushed to the control panel. He pushed the dazed superhero to the side and started hacking the main control panel, attaching his holographic wrist computer to the main frame. "League override four-seven: uplink video feed!"

'_Video feed linked up…"_

Robin stepped back in horror. The video feed showed many different angels of the circular space craft, but it told the same story. There was a large chunk missing in the wall near a window that was shattered; other windows were shattered, too, while still others were only cracked; many Leaguers were trying to make it safely to escape pods, while others lay, in pools of blood…dead. (eeep! *hides VERY quickly*) Others were merrily being sucked into the void of black and stars.

There were meteors that kept slamming into the aircraft and Superman's face appeared on screen suddenly. Robin shrieked in surprise at the Man of Steel; blood trailed down his face from a blow to his head and he appeared to be in pain – the great Kryptonite, in physical pain! "Green Arrow – Complications – meteor shower – keep – safe – Ahhhh!"

The screen flickered off as erratic screams filtered through the dying feed. Robin turned to Green Arrow with wide eyes, questioning.

Green Arrow, pale faced, answered the startled kid. "Meteor shower; we normally evacuate the spaceship when we know that one is coming for safety percautions, but I guess we didn't catch this one in time… The ship has never been hit before in one…"

Robin turned back to the static filled screen. "What happened to them? Are they alright?"

Green Arrow shook his head. "I could make out ten down Leaguers…Dead. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Flash…"

Robin's face paled more than usual and he leaned against the computer console: Flash! Poor Wally… First Batman goes off the grid, and now they have ten superheroes that have flat lined! What was going on? It was like Robin's world was slowly crumbling beneath his feet and he couldn't spread his wings and fly.

"What about Manhunter?" Robin asked quickly, thinking of M'gann.

Green Arrow frowned in sadness. "He was down, too."

His vision swam. "A-and…Aquaman?"

"He was in Atlantis; safe and sound, unless any meteors decided to land in the ocean…" Green Arrow's try at lightening the mood didn't work very well, and his forced laughter died quickly. He cleared his throat as Robin moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" He asked sternly.

Robin turned around, his black cape fluttering behind him. "Back to Mount Justice." He waved a hand at the console that still registered static on the frequency. "The League can't help me… But _my_ League can." And with that the bird made a quick exit.

.._~_

Robin made it back to the Mountain on his Redbird motorcycle; he started keeping one near the Justice Hall after the incident at Cadmus, and it was coming in very handy at the moment. By then it was nearly midnight. He raced through the backdoor and quickly called out for Kid Flash.

"Wally! Wally, come here; I need your help!" He ran through the empty Mountain to the center, calling up the large screens around him. He plugged in his holo-computer and started scanning the data he had secretly uploaded from the Watchtower while hacking the system from the Justice Hall.

Wally appeared at the opposite side of the room, rubbing tired eyes and standing in his boxers and a T-shirt. "What-" Wally yawned. "-Are you doing here, Robby?"

Robin typed on his computer quickly. "The Watchtower has been destroyed…"

That snapped Wally from sleep. "Destroyed?"

By now, the whole team was there. Kaldur calmly joined Robin by the computer, watching the data-streams fly over the screen. "Where did you get this, Robin?"

"The Watchtower; before it was destroyed." M'gann was pacing (using her telekinesis powers to hover over the ground) worriedly and Superboy was sitting in the middle of the room, in a zen pose, thinking.

Wally was looking over his best friend's shoulder. "Who was at the Watchtower? What destroyed it? Was it another meteor shower? Surely someone made it out alive! Atom, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Flash, Martian Manhunter! Superman, for babies' sake!"

Robin paused in his typing to face his two friends who had just lost their mentors – no, their _family_! His solemn face told all: Flash, nor Martian Manhunter, had made it out alive. M'gann burst into tears and Superboy tried to comfort her. Wally stumbled backwards a few steps in shock. Robin turned back to his holo-computer.

So far, four out of his many nightmares have come true: Batman was in the clutches of Poison Ivy, Alfred was completely off the grid, his parents' had once again been murdered, and now the League was of no use.

What more of his fears would he face before this storm calmed?

.._~_

**Icey: OH MY GOSH, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!**

**Roy: Well, you didn't kill Green Arrow, sooo…**

**M'gann: But Uncle J'onn!**

**Wally: And Uncle Barry!**

**Superboy: Don't forget Superman!**

**Icey: Hey, Superman's not dead!**

**Robin: Who's next, hmm? Alfred?**

**Icey: No, he's going to survive; in fact he's perfectly safe. Everyone is safe! You got to believe me!**

**Reina Grayson: I warned you!**

**Icey: Eep! *flees from angry readers***

**NO NO NO, THEY ARE NOT DEAD! At least, at the moment they are; BUT THEY AREN'T REALLY DEAD! For most of the story, it will be believed that they are, but THEY ARE ALIVE AND VERY WELL! BUT THEY ARE BELIEVED TO BE DEAD!**

**STOP THROWING SHARP OBJECTS AT ME NOW!**


	8. Precaution and Promises Die Sometime

**I'M NOT DEAD! :D Soo, that last chapter was a pain to write 'cause I've never written about characters dying before…I don't even write about physically hurting my characters…EVER! So, this was a really interesting change. :) So, here's the next chappy!**

.._~_

Robin really didn't think his whole life – everything he'd ever known – would actually come to an abrupt halt like this. He didn't even like to think about hitting the age of 18 when he'd be a legal adult because he was afraid Bruce and himself would drift apart. He was afraid…afraid of being alone, afraid of losing everything he's ever cared about. Like that fateful night in the circus where Mr. and Mrs. Grayson left a little nine-year-old, alone, flying solo; after all, that is what solo means: alone…

Unaccompanied,

On your own,

Singly,

By yourself…

And nightmare number five came alive when Wally told Robin that Speedy had left to do some recon; so, now Robin was without his older brother – who had, may I add, _promised_ twice if not more to be there for Robin throughout this ordeal…

So now he was flying five times over…

Kaldur had suggested they get some sleep and go through Robin's information the next day when they were well rested. Wally had, even through his pain of losing his Uncle, draped an arm around Robin's shoulders and pulled him away from the computers for a good night's sleep. The little bird didn't even change, he just laid down on his bed and was asleep instantly.

'_How much sleep as he been getting this week? Geez, Wally, you sure are a 'best friend'.' _Wally sighed and pushed some black curls away from Robin's face, before removing his domino mask and placing it on the bed stand. "Sleep well, Robin… We'll find Batman in the morning…" And with that, the Mountain stilled…

.._~_

He shouldn't have gone ahead without the hacker's approval, but Speedy wasn't a patient dude who was going to sit on his hands while the League stifled Robin's enthusiasm if you could call it that… No, he had gone ahead with the experience in hacking he had learned from the bird and hacked the Watchtower from the Mountain's computers when no one was watching.

He had learned about the meteor shower heading their way, and had even tried to warn the Watchtower members; but he was too late.

Apparently this nightmare wasn't just Robin's problem; even Roy was frightened at the thought of losing the League. And it had come true.

But that was then, before this started, and this was now! The war had begun… And, yes, even in their death, Roy was very angry at the League for lying to Dick about the real culprit behind this abduction. Poison Ivy…Pff, as if she could win against the all-might Batman and his Batarangs and such! No, it had been someone else…someone far more sinister…

He had been watching the warehouse for a few hours, and there had only been one movement: Poison Ivy arriving from the next-door warehouse with an unconscious Batman. The Dark Night left a wake of blood behind him as he was dragged by two henchmen into the neighboring warehouse. Speedy had called upon all his will power learned from his mentor to not charge blindly at the docks and hideout; he had to wait for the opportune time…

Which was now.

Speedy vaulted from his place on the hillside, to a throng of bushes that would serve as a good enough hiding place while he made his way slowly toward the warehouses. His bow and arrow drawn, he quickly made it to the foot of the hill. Ducking into the ditch, Speedy calmly breathed through his nose as two armed guard walked past.

Two guards on patrol

Two more near the front warehouse, and a throng of guards near the boats down a ways.

Roy could leave them be and deal with them along with the villain creeps in the building; or he could take them out now and risk the villains escaping with Batman…

He chose option two…Better for the villains to know that he was on their tail, then risk dying trying ot save the Dark Knight. He chose one high-density polyurethane arrow and aimed at the docks where the majority of guards were. Stretching the string taunt, he let go, and the arrow made quick work of engulfing the group at the docks in a sticky substance, calling the attention of the four other guards over.

Roy raced across the tarmat and slammed himself against the door. The door banged open and Red Arrow entered quickly, looking around for any more guards that needed to be taken out. No more guards; in fact, there was no one in the building! He dropped his bow and arrow from a ready stance, and frowned; that was his first mistake.

"Welcome, my little chipy-doodle! I was hoping to see you, but more importantly, where's the Boy Blunder?" a voice behind him made him turn around in confusion.

_Shhhhh-tick!_

He stumbled backwards, gaping, before glancing down at his chest in horror; apparently precaution doesn't always work out well for the good guys…

.._~_

Robin's eyes snapped open and he sat up, screaming. Wally was awake in moments and by his friend's side, trying to calm him down. It was 5:42 AM. So far Young Justice had only had four hours of sleep… Kaldur was the next to arrive, followed closely by M'gann; Superboy followed after a few moments.

"Dude, calm down! It was just a dream… You're fine!" Wally tried to comfort Robin, but the Boy Wonder merrily drew his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and buried his face, sobbing.

"It's not a dream, KF! Batman's really gone! He's gone! He left me, just like Mom and Dad, just like the League, just like Speedy! I'm alone! What did I do to make them hate me, Wally?" Robin sobbed again and shook with anger and fear. Wally sat besides Robin on the bed and drew him in a hug while M'gann fetched a glass of water and Kaldur rubbed comforting circles on the crying boy's back.

It took a few minutes, but Robin was finally calm again, holding onto Wally's nightshirt in a death grip. Kaldur moved from the bed and M'gann handed Wally the glass. Wally took the water and patted Robin on the shoulder. "Here…" He whispered softly. Dick accepted the water and drank some sips before returning to his death grip on Wally.

His exposed, blue eyes trailed across his friends standing worried above him. "Y-you guys won't leave me, right?" He asked.

M'gann crumbled; he was just so cute when he was scared! Like a little kid… So innocent. She nodded. "I promise, Robin."

Super stepped forward with a determined face. "I'll never leave you."

Kaldur smiled kindly down at the boy. "And I must stay; you're still not fully ready to take on the leadership of this team yet."

Robin smiled and looked up at Wally. The speedster smirked. "As for me, I can't go: you won't let go of my shirt!"

The group laughed heartily, before returning to their bedchambers to snatch a few more hours of sleep before the mission tomorrow. Wally stayed with Robin, talking softly about ice-cream from foreign places, and crumpets and tea from England (don't take that wrong, please…), until the Boy Wonder was back in the sanctuary of sleep.

Wally sighed, replacing himself on his bunk bed on the opposite side of the room. He lay on his side watching the slow rise and fall of Robin's chest, and the way his eyes fluttered behind closed eyelids. The speedster knew he would be up at least once more before the morning broke, but he would always stay by his best friends side; forever…

He promised.

But so had Speedy…

And we know where he is.

.._~_

**Roy: Did you just…?**

**Icey: Yes, I did.**

**Roy: ...You're crossing the line…**

**Icey: *sigh* I know…**

**So, I'm expecting some more angry reviews… JUST HOLD ON FOR THE REST OF THE STORY AND YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED! I promise…Ohh, wait, I just proved in the story above that promises can't always be kept… Darn! Well, I give you cookies in hoping you will continue reading!**


	9. Nightmares and Promises

***stumbles in with a bandage around her head* I kind of had a run in with Batman; he gave me this very nice concussion for trying to kill him in the story! And then Robin showed up and broke a rib or two of mine… *winces* They aren't very happy with me at the moment…**

**Roy: I don't blame them…**

**Icey: Shush!**

**Roy: You're trying to kill them!**

**Icey: Well at least **_**you're**_** not dead…yet! *dodges arrows***

.._~_

Speedy strained against his confinements: if you count the slight tugs on the loosely bound ropes 'strained', that is… He had to fight the darkness; if he closed his eyes, he would never surface again! The knife in his chest dug deep and blood poured from the wound, though no one could tell; why had he chosen red – the color of blood – for his outfit? It was like saying 'I want you to kill me'! It was like pleading that they stab him in the chest so his red blood could linger with his red cloth…

But these thoughts weren't what he wanted to think about now; he didn't want to think about petty choices. What he really wanted was to release the almighty Dark Knight from his confinements in the chair opposite Roy. Roy was tied to one of those circus props; the ones where people are tied to that spin and then a clown throws knives at him.

Darkness tugged at the archer. He decided to focus on Batman: the Dark Knight's cape was tattered, bloody from the many injuries he bore. His suite was no more than rags left hanging off of him. Obvious torture was given to the Dark Knight.

That was, after all, the whole reason the clown-faced Joker lived as a villain: to torture people beyond repair, yes? And that was what he was doing now. And Poison Ivy: well, Roy supposed the Joker couldn't find anyone else to work with on his damaging ply.

Darkness pulled harder, but Speedy knew if he gave in he would never resurface again. The archer caught Batman's eye and gave a half smile, before rasping and choking on his own blood. He spat a few times before returning to face the Dark Knight.

"They got you, too, eh?" The older man's voice held some sarcasm in it, and Roy grinned despite himself.

He tried to breath past the burning sensation in his chest. It was getting harder as time wore on, and he knew blood was filling up at least one of his lungs. It had just hit 6 o'clock in the morning; Young Justice would probably be getting up in a half-hour and starting on their journey to find Batman. Roy prayed they wouldn't make it to the warehouses; he prayed they would stay at the Mountain, hoped beyond hope that they would leave this be.

The archer cringed and arched his body in pain as another flash ran through his chest. Batman watched concerned, trying to get loose of his bonds. Roy caught the Dark Knight's eyes again and held them for a while as his eyelids drooped dangerously.

"Tell…Robin…I…" Speedy coughed and let the blood gurgle past his teeth and drip past his chin. "I…" He continued through the thick liquid. "I…never meant….to…leave him…alone…" Speedy tried to gasp for air as his life slowly slipped away….

His eyes closed.

Batman called for him.

"Roy? Roy! Stay with me, kid!"

…Let another nightmare reign…

.._~_

Robin awoke for the second time that night, screaming and shivering through the folds of fabric that surrounded him. Once again, Wally was by his side first trying to calm him down. But Robin shook as tears flowed past his pain filled eyes.

"Wally! Wally, I saw him… Ohh, I saw him! He's dead. Oh my gosh, he's dead and it's my fault! I made him promise! I was mad at him and so he promised never to leave me! Oh, noo! It's all my fault!" Robin sobbed and Wally quickly pulled the younger teen to his chest. This wasn't Robin; Robin didn't lose it like this…

The rest of the team quickly piled into the small room to find Robin in a worst state then before. M'gann couldn't endure the pain and hurt radiating off of the Boy Wonder, and quietly left crying. Superboy followed her out to comfort her, while Kaldur tried to help calm Robin.

But the Boy Wonder wouldn't have any of it…

"Don't you get it?" He shrieked, pulling away from his friends. "I could have saved them! All of them! Mom, Dad! Bruce, Alfred, even Speedy!"

"Wa-wait! What about Speedy?" Wally asked concerned for his friend.

Robin shrunk away to the farthest corner of the bed, at the corner of the wall, and folded in on himself. "He's dead…I just know, he's dead…"

"Rob, he cannot dead… He promised to help you and he will!" Kaldur reassured.

Robin shook his head and breathed in quickly. "I saw him. Someone had him, dangling him off the roof of Wayne Tech in Gotham. And then, the person left go and Speedy just fell… Didn't even try to save himself; like he wanted to die…Like he wanted to get away from me…" Robin swiped at his eyes furiously and sat up straighter. "He's dead."

Wally moved to Robin's laptop and opened it. "No, he's not…" Wally called up the stats on Red Arrow and everything showed 'PERFECT HEALTH'. Wally turned back to Robin. "It was just a dream, Dick… Come on, let's get you something to eat. You'll feel better once we find Batman." Wally stood up and smiled at Robin who didn't look totally convinced.

"Promise?" The Boy Wonder asked, big blue eyes pleading.

Kaldur answered for Wally. "We promise that nothing has happened."

Robin frowned but nodded his head. Superboy had started some waffles, following the distressed M'gann's instructions, and Wally sat Dick down at the counter. The Boy Wonder had grabbed his mask and put it on before leaving their bedroom.

Kaldur still seemed worried, but merrily drained three glasses of water before heading to the control room. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep anything down for this mission; this wasn't just another mission that if they failed the League would back them up.

No, if they failed, no one would be there to catch them and the world would be overrun by the evil villains that lived off of fear and terror! And even if they did manage to get away with their lives, would Robin ever be the same? They had to get Batman back, and Speedy. Granted Speedy wasn't in any danger (as far as Kaldur'ahm knew), but Robin would definitely need his brother figure nearby.

Robin picked at his waffle for ten minutes before taking one bite and throwing it back up. Wally patted the boy's back and quickly down both their plates. Superboy and Miss Martian ate quietly. They were back in the control room where Kaldur had disappeared to within minutes. The Atlantian was rummaging through the files Robin had picked up.

Robin walked up to the computer console and Aqualad gave it up. "The video that Superman talked about might be a good place to start looking for clues."

Wally nodded grimly, zipping to his bedroom and back; now dressed in his superhero costume, he felt like this was a heavier job then what they could handle. Miss Martian telepathically changed her clothing and Superboy is always in his outfit. Kaldur was also in his outfit. Now they were serious superheroes awaiting their leader – a mere thirteen-year-old – to direct them.

Robin called up the video and stepped back. The video feed crackled a few times before coming on in black and white coloration; must be a glitch that was picked up when the Watchtower was destroyed.

Poison Ivy appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Leaguers! I'm sure your all wondering what Batsy is doing hanging around with a girl like me; well, you see, he ditched me on one of our dates and I've never forgiven him since. So, I thought you wouldn't mind if I captured him and had that date he owes me!" Her cackling laughter filled the empty mountain.

"Oh, I'm just kidding you!" The camera zoomed out to show Batman, hung from the rafter with heavy chains, bleeding and bruised. "No, I actually wanted a play date with the Dark Knighty!" She let lose another cackle of laughter. "I lured him here with my pheromone toxin… Surprisingly even the thick-headed Dark Knight couldn't resist…" She gave his skull a few raps, gaining a low growl.

"Well, we really have no terms as to when you will see this knightly beast again, but I hope it'll be soon; maybe even on a rainy day in the courtyard saying your goodbyes to the wonderful Bat-boy." She laughed once again and Superboy gritted his teeth and folded his hands into tight fists; he really wanted to punch her. "I'll let you people chat it up for three minutes. Then, Batsy, we're going to have some more fun, eh?" She jabbed his in a particularly deep wound and he grunted.

Robin glared at the screen, wishing he had heat vision like Superman so he could destroy the evil villainess. But he was brought back from his thoughts as the screen pulled in on Batman. He saw the pain etched on Batman's face; pain, worry, and hatred all radiated from his body.

"Superman, don't speak, just listen! You need to get Robin! Keep him safe; Poison Ivy is really after him! You know how sick these criminals are; Alfred has been taken and is tied up on the boat by Dock number – OOF!" He was jabbed in the ribs and Robin knew he must have at least four broken ribs.

"Hope you guys had a nice chat, but we really must be running off now! Ta-ta!" She gave a princess wave as Batman struggled in the background.

"No, no, you can't – Dock CD-3. No, Robin, I lo-"

Robin stared at the static filled screen for a few moments before swaying. Aqualad was the closest and supported the Boy Wonder as he got his bearings. Robin looked up into the kind eyes of the Atlantian. "Thank you, Aqualad."

Aqualad nodded. He turned back to the computer screen, releasing the Boy Wonder. "So, Dock CD-3. Is that where they are holding Batman?"

Kid Flash stepped forward. "No. Robin, go back to when they zoomed in on Batman."

Robin shuddered. "D-do I have to?"

Kid Flash's face fell. "No, Rob. It's ok…" Robin stepped back behind Superboy so his view was blocked and Kid Flash rewound the tape, making sure it was muted, and paused as the screen started to zone in on Batman.

"See? In the window! The sign." Kid Flash pointed to the window.

Aqualad squinted. "Zoom in on it, Kid."

Kid Flash did as he was told and Aqualad gasped. "I know that place; My King and I swam those channels together. That's nowhere near Dock CD-3. That's on the other side of the harbor…"

Robin peeked over Superboy's shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

Superboy frowned. "We could split up into two teams…"

Aqualad nodded, shutting down the computer. "Robin, go with Superboy and Kid Flash. Find Batman and bring him back. Miss Martian and I will find Alfred and bring him home safely."

Robin nodded. "Where exactly are we going?"

Aqualad frowned. "You know where the last circus grounds where, yes?"

Robin shuddered. He hated the circus; it was complete torture to remember where every circus was held. "Yes, I know; near the old Silver Owned warehouses."

Aqualad nodded. "That is your destination."

They quickly boarded the bio-ship and Miss Martian quietly drove the ship, in camouflage mode, to a central meeting place near both attack points.

The two teams were about to head out when Aqualad stopped Robin. "And, Robin!"

The Boy Wonder turned around.

"We promise to be back."

Robin grinned. "I trust you, Aqualad!"

And with that, they entered the final nightmare to be tried…

.._~_

**Sorry it was so long… I just couldn't find a good place to stop it! So, I apologize for killing off the League and now Speedy, but only about two more chapters to go and you will have all answers you desire! I know, "Two more chapters"? Yes, it is kind of a short story…. I truly apologize for that… I tried to put in as many fillers as possible to make it longer… I may end up making it longer, but I don't know… Sooo…**


	10. A Not So Super Goodbye

**Robin: Ohh, fight scene! *rubs hands excitedly***

**Icey: *evil grin* Oh, the never ending torture…! *flees***

.._~_

Robin thought about disappearing to the shadows, doing his quiet work, but decided against it. He was with a team, his friends, that had promised not to leave him; and he wouldn't leave them, either. Even Kid Flash was walking instead of speeding ahead. They converged upon the docks as one unit, working in perfect unison.

The docks were pretty narrow, what with the large hill to one side and the warehouses to the other. It was a dark place to be at night; the lights didn't work after years of no use. The only lighting was given off by a full moon. There were many shadows and crevices for the trio to hide in as they made their way to the assumed warehouse.

Robin noticed there were no guards about. He also noticed as they paused in the shadows to assess their next course of action that there was a pickish-red substance by the docks. Robin frowned, before jabbing Kid Flash in the ribs. The speedster didn't yelp, used to Dick poking his ribs, and turned to the hacker. Said hacker pointed to the lower docks and Kid Flash followed his slim finger to the substance. Kid frowned and turned back to Robin, mouthing 'Speedy' as a question. Robin shrugged.

They approached the second to last warehouse, hoping it was the right one; Aqualad had given the group directions as to which warehouse they should enter due to the location of the sign outside the window. Robin motioned for Superboy to cover the back while he and Kid Flash entered the front. Superboy nodded in agreement and was off. Robin counted to ten before kicking the door open. Kid Flash zoomed in as the door crashed to the ground.

Robin somersaulted into the area, birdarangs drawn and ready; but the warehouse was empty… Or, he thought it was. He heard shuffling from behind and turned around to find guards entering, shouting something in a foreign language.

"KF, baddies, twelve O'clock!" He threw the birdarangs and flipped backwards to put distance between himself and the guards. _Where was Batman?_ Kid Flash ran forward, goggles draw over his eyes, and grabbed the weapons of four guards, dropping the automatics at Robin's feet. But it wasn't enough to stop the onslaught of guards: there must have been fifty! Once they were in place, the darkly clad men raised their weapons and pointed at the two superheroes.

The bullets started piercing the air, and Robin dropped a handful of gas pellets. He used his grappling gun to vault towards the rafter. "Kid Flash, get out of here! I'll meet you at Point Grape!"

Kid Flash was dodging bullets through the smog as the guards chanced getting closer. "Point Grape? Dude, what the heck is that supposed to mean!"

Robin watched as two guards got a little too close for comforts. He dropped down from the rafters and proceeded to knock them out. "Point Grape! Index finger, docks, grape…"

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "I'm not a detective, Rob!"

Robin growled in frustration as the smog cleared; someone had opened a large, bay door. "Speedy's work down by the docks! Run!" And with that, the Boy Wonder disappeared into the shadows.

Kid Flash tripped some guards on his way toward the back of the warehouse. "Ohh, you mean that substance; couldn't you have just said that, Robby?"

But Robin wasn't in the warehouse anymore. He had reached the substance and was using his holographic-computer to analyze the substance. Kid Flash appeared by the Boy Wonder, looking over his shoulder the whole time. "Uh, listen, Rob, we're kind of running out of time…" The guards converged upon the duo from the warehouse.

"Ah-ha! This _is_ from Speedy's arrow! He was here… But where is he now…?" Robin question as he shut down the computer and turned to face the oncoming hoard.

Kid Flash stepped back carefully. "I take the half on the left, you take the half on the right?"

Robin grinned, pulling more birdarangs from his belt. "Sure!"

Kid Flash ran forward, doing what he does best, and started zipping between the ranks, grabbing weapons, pulling down helmets, pranking them more or less. Robin threw his birdarangs – explosive birdarangs, mind you. They landed in the middle of the guards, knocking a good amount out and probably injuring many others. Robin took advantage of their downfall to maneuver to the other side of the docks so his back wasn't facing water.

Kid Flash had tied up some guards, while others lay motionless, out for the count. He grinned as another guard advanced on him, but frowned when his feet wouldn't move. He looked down to see a dark green lacing its way around his feet, his legs, his waist, his torso. He screamed. "Robin! Robin, watch out!" but was cut off as the encircled his head.

Robin paused in his karate demonstration. "KF!" A guard reached forward for Robin's arm and the Boy Wonder swatted the hand away, sending a round house kick in the guard's direction. He did a triple back flip and landed at the base of the hill. Man, there was absolutely no room for him to move. He scanned the area wearily for the redhead, but found that the speedster wasn't there.

Robin threw some more birdarangs in the baddies' direction and raced to the nearest warehouse: the last warehouse. He needed to gain the upper hand. Using his grappling gun, he shot straight out to the warehouse wall; making sure the line was secure, Robin then wrapped the gun itself around a strong bush. He then raced toward the warehouse at an eighty degree angle. The guards started forward toward the shadowy figure, only to trip on the wire stretched across the tarmat. In the end, there was a large road block of entangled bodies, some unconscious. This gave Robin the time he needed to reach the warehouse.

He raced inside and pressed himself against a wall, panting. Where was Kid Flash? Heck, where was Supey? Robin had instructed the clone to remain at the back of the warehouse and attack from there. But he hadn't seen the younger Man of Steel since they separated. Robin quickly took in his surroundings and was surprised to find many items in this warehouse.

There were quite a few crates, a table and chairs, many different sizes of chains strung from the rafters and curled on the floor. It was also dark in here, but the lights on the ceiling looked new. Dick cautiously moved forward between the crates. To his left was a spinning blur, and he thought for a minute that he recognized the item. He cautiously, curiously, moved toward the object and froze as the lights suddenly were turned on, illuminated him, leaving no shadows for comfort.

Robin carefully assessed the area for any bad guys, drawing some Birdarangs from his belt. He was surprised to find no one else in the warehouse, so he turned his attention back to the spinning object. He calmly stepped toward it – and froze for the second time. Yes, he recognized it. He was actually very familiar with it. It was a vertical spinning table the clowns at the circus would use; Robin used to be the prop to be tied to the table.

He shook himself from his daze to study the spinning table, utilizing what the clowns had taught him to focus on who was strapped to the table. The trick was to focus on an outside area of the spinning table and follow the spot, thus giving your eye the illusion that the thing is visible; but it's more than illusion. A clown would use this trick to keep from hitting the prop on the table.

Robin's blood seemed to drain from his body and his legs grew weak at the sight: Speedy was tied to the spinning table, blood staining the colorful background along with his suit. A knife stuck out from his chest: the murder weapon.

_Shhh-twang!_

A knife lodged itself near Speedy's body as a voice spoke up behind Robin.

"Ahh, I see you found us, Boy Blunder!" The Joker's nasally voice broke through to Robin, but he was too shocked to do anything as Poison Ivy appeared besides the spinning table and slowed it to a stop. Robin could only stare at his pale brother, his friend. Poison Ivy's green lips turned upwards in an unhealthy smirk as Robin fell to his knees, staring at the lifeless form.

Speedy had promised…

He had _promised_…

He had promised they would go in together…

He had promised Robin wouldn't be left, alone, to deal with this…

_He had promised!_

And if Roy had promised and hadn't kept his promise, why should Robin trust his teammates? That must have been what happened! Superboy got scared and ran off, along with Kid Flash… But, hadn't Kid Flash stuck around with Robin for a while?

It must have been to confuse him!

But, Kid Flash was Robin's best friend… He wouldn't just ditch Robin like that…

Would he?

Robin was broken out of his thoughts as a plant shuffled its way towards Poison Ivy. The green girl patted the spiky plant before the plant disappeared through a crack, leaving behind a bloody Kid Flash.

Robin's eyes grew wide and he ran forward. "KF!" He caught his friend as his knees gave way.

"Hey, Robby. Good…to see you, bud…" the speedster groaned and shifted lower to the floor, dragging the Boy Wonder with him. Robin tried to stop the flow of blood from his many scratches. He felt so guilty for doubting in the speedster.

He voiced his apologies. "I'm so sorry, KF! I shouldn't have doubted you or left you alone… We're a team and if I ever want to be leader, I have to think about my teammates…"

KF grinned before sucking in a harsh breath. "No prob, Robby. Just focus on getting out of here, whether you leave me behind or not, 'k?"

Robin hesitated. "I can't…"

Kid Flash smiled kindly. "Promise me, Robin."

Robin looked down at his soaked gloves; KF was bleeding faster now. The plant had done a job on him, and the cuts were deep. "KF-"

"Robin…" Kid Flash tugged on Robin's arm, causing the young hacker to look Wally in the eye. "Promise me." The speedster ordered.

"But…" Robin took a shaky breath. "I promise, Wally…" but he doubted himself; a lot of promises had been broken in his life, especially recently…

As if reading his mind, the Joker spoke up. "But you know, Boy Blunder, Batsy didn't head his promise to always be there for you. He went missing over a week before you even knew about it. So, that was breaking two promises: Batsy promising to be there for you, and you promising to be there for him! And then there's this lovely archer over here." Ivy moved so the Joker could get closer to Roy's body. "Now, didn't he promise you something too?"

Robin stopped glaring at the Joker and lowered his eyes quietly to the floor. "…Yes…"

The Joker leaned closer, cupping a gloved hand to his ear. "What? What was that? I couldn't hear you?"

Robin quickly punched the Joker and stood up, towering over Kid Flash. "I said 'yes'." Anger rippled from his body in waves. The Joker had fallen against the now still vertical table, on top of Roy's body. An angry voice boomed through the metal warehouse.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM! Don't you dare touch Speedy!" Robin spun around and, sure enough, it was an angry Supey. His pupils were small and he was struggling against a very angry looking plant. Poison Ivy had just brought him in from outside, along with a few banged up guards. "I said DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

The Joker even looked a little frightened by the angry boy, so he quickly stood up from the dead body. "No matter, I never liked bodies much anyway…" He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and dabbed at his bloody nose.

Superboy got angrier, but Robin noticed his face was paling considerably as the seconds passed by. "YOU KILLED HIM!" It was not a question: it was an accusation.

The Joker smiled. "Yes, yes I did…"

Superboy pulled at the vines entangling him, but as he did so, his eyes rolled back and he immediately went limp. Falling to the floor with a dull crack, Robin screamed out. "Superboy!" He helped KF to his feet before running over to the Kryptonite's side. He pulled the older teen into his arms and slapped at his face. "Wake up, Supey! Wake up!" A bloody Kid Flash joined him in trying to wake the superhero.

Poison Ivy's cackling laugh electrocuted their nerves and both superheroes glared at her from their spot on the floor. "You honestly think he's asleep?" Another round of laughter. "Oh, darlings, don't you know? I used Kryptonite based fertilizer for that plant: the only weakness to Superman, and now his clone…"

Robin looked horrified at the body in his arms. "Y-you killed him?" Kid Flash squeaked as Robin gently laid Superboy down. He slowly pressed his ear against the older teen's chest. No heartbeat, no breath…

No life.

.._~_

**OH MY GOSH, I KILLED SUPEY! *bangs head against keyboard* That was just wrong! I am soo sorry Miss Martian!**

**Oh, and if anyone's wondering what happened to Green Arrow and why he's not there, this is what happened:**

Green Arrow stared at the cap in his hands: was the League really gone? Why did he feel responsible for their deaths? It wasn't as if he was in charge of checking for Meteor Storms; that was Atom's job…

He carefully placed the cap on the table in front of him before unhooking his bow and quiver from his back. He tossed them on the floor and the arrows scattered around the room. Without the League, he was a no body… He had no superpowers; he had no protégé (at least, not anymore since Speedy quit).

Quit.

Hmm, maybe that wasn't a bad idea…

Oliver Queen threw the hat on the floor, mimicking his protégé's actions, and walked out of the Hall shutting the lights off on his way…

**So, yeah, he quit… Off to type up the next chapter! Please don't be mad with me and just keep reading because it gets really good soon!**


	11. Fallen From Mighty

**Wow, thank you guys for keeping on reading even though I keep killing off the characters… I really appreciate your faith in me. :) So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

.._~_

Robin stared palely at the lifeless form of Superboy: the symbol of strength and endurance, now lay dead at his feet. Kid Flash was leaning heavily on Robin; he had lost a lot more blood since Supey's death. Robin guessed the strength he had shown during the time that Robin dwelled on trying to wake Conner up had been given to the speedster from adrenaline.

Robin leaned close to KF's ear and whispered, "Can't you use your super-healing…?"

The boy only shook his head. "I have… The wounds-keep-opening-again… It's like she placed thorns _inside_ me!"

Robin didn't doubt that. Poison Ivy would do anything sick involving plants. But instead of dwelling on how she would have done such an amazing action, Robin focused his brain power on an escape plan while his physical strength was used to uphold the failing speedster.

The Joker was monologuing, with Poison Ivy as his only captive audience.

"..And so I forged a new plan! One of great intelligence! And with the lovely Ivy on my ferocious team, we tracked down your kind, and had them killed off!"

That snapped the Boy Wonder from his thoughts. "You what?"

The Joker turned from Poison Ivy and the guards, and toward his little puppet. "I had the Watchtower destroyed."

Robin frowned. "But, I saw it… It was destroyed by a meteor shower… There's no way anyone could create a meteor shower." He looked down at his limp best friend that lay in his arms. "Is there?"

There was no response from Kid Flash and Robin turned his attention back to the cackling villains before him.

"My little bird boy has surely gotten himself into a fix, hasn't he?" The Joker chuckled. "Not to worry. Let me explain…

"You see, I wanted ultimate revenge on you and Batsy here, so I devised a cunning scheme that would bring together me and the lovely Ivy to forge the worst case scenario my little Boy Blunder could face. And in that scheme, it included getting together some top notch villains: Scarecrow, Clayface, Two-Face, etcetera, etcetera! The fun was knowing that they were expendable!"

The Joker cackled again, and Poison Ivy seemed a little offended. Robin wondered if she was going to throw the towel in and stop their little parade of 'partnership'; anyone with half a brain knew not to trust the Joker. Yet the Joker continued uninterrupted.

"So, when Daddy-Bats arrived, I threatened him; but not just him! Oh, no, _Dicky-poo_!"

Robin's blood froze in his veins: The Joker knew his secrete identity!

"Oh, yeas, Richard! I know… I know all about Mummy and Daddy's death; I know there was a certain evil master mind behind that. A certain, hm-mm, a certain Tony Zucco perhaps!"

Robin lashed out, but Ivy cut in his path, punching him in the jaw and sending him crashing into a pile of metal crates. The wind was knocked out of our Boy Wonder and he gripped his chest to calm himself.

The Joker advanced past the dead Superboy and the unconscious Kid Flash, following after Poison Ivy.

"Tut, tut! Think about everything I've done so far, Dicky-poo: I've single handedly taken down the Justice League, and your pathetic puppet team!" The Joker laid a good kick in Wally's ribs, earning a grunt from the fallen runner. Robin gasped for air as it came rushing back in his lungs. The Joker returned his attention on the Boy Wonder. "With some help from some elite mob bosses, I had the ability to attract a meteor storm to the Watchtower with a reverse polarity, using the magnitude adjustment of space to my advantage.

"Poof! The League is gone, just like that!" The Joker leaned down and yanked Robin's head back by his dark hair. The man's evil grin closed in on his face until he was inches from the teenager; Robin clawed at his hands for freedom. "Back to the threatening, shall we?" He ended up dragging Robin a few feet away from where he had fallen.

Robin had no choice but to follow. The kit-gloved hand was not letting go anytime soon. The Joker stopped abruptly and pulled Robin's hair back further so he was looking up.

"Look! Look what I have done, Dick!"

"Dick, Robin, Son!" Bruce Wayne stared down at his son. "Son, I…I love you…"

Wide eyed, the little boy who had lost his best friends, his family, his mother and father, stared up at the shadow he knew so well as Bruce Wayne, Batman, Caped Crusader, Vigilante of the Night; hope to Gotham; father to Richard Grayson. And in this realization the Boy Wonder viewed as Poison Ivy, now perfectly balanced in his slim frame upon the rafter, plunged a knife in his father's chest.

"NOOOO!" The boy pleaded, tears rolling down his cheek. The scene in front of him wavered for a moment, and he clawed viciously at the Joker's arm, tearing at the fabric of the man's coat and cutting long scratches in the man's arm. Blood dripped from Robin's finger nails as the Joker retracted his hurt arm.

"Fool boy! I have done this! All of this!" The man's hand made a sweep of the bodies in the warehouse, and as he waved over Kid Flash's still alive body a guard drew a gun and shot the speedster. Robin cried out again in agony.

"KF! Nooo! No-o, please, no!" The scene wavered again, harder this time, like Robin was in a warp. He raced forward thrusting his hand forward and making contact with the guard's temple. The man hit the floor hard but Robin wasn't concerned about that. He fell besides his lifeless friend's body and pulled it in his arms.

"You think I'm done with just that?" The Joker held an injured finger out towards a window: towards Dock CD-3. The window erupted in a view of flames as an explosion rocked the figure left in the warehouse. Robin screamed again: No, Miss Martian and Aqualad! M'gann! Kaldur!

He turned back at a cackling Joker. Poison Ivy stood beside him; no, behind him; no in front of him; no, besides him – no… Inside him! Robin pulled three batarangs from his utility belt, tears pooling from hidden eyes, staining his cheeks. He threw the batarangs at the pair of villains that were responsible for his emotional and physical torture.

His tortured eyes widened as the vision of the Joker flickered from the Joker to Poison Ivy and back, their cackling laughter filling the warehouse, finding their way _inside_ the Boy Wonder's head. His tears streaked down his face, dropping off his chin with sweat to mingle with the blood of his friends. The batarang flew _through_ the pair of villains as they continued to laugh and flicker from one to the other.

"Stop, please…" He begged, sobbing as he pulled out his tazer. He aimed at the Joker – now Ivy – and now back to being the Joker… He pulled the trigger that shot out two electrified cords, but they never made contact with the villains. Instead it appeared that the cords ran past the villains and fell tot eh floor with a sizzle.

Finally, Robin cracked. He pulled at his hair and kneeled down on the hard floor, curling into a tight ball for protection as the laughter grew louder. "Please, oh, please, make it stop! Bruce…Dad, please… Daddy, please! Roy, you promised! Everyone of you promised!"

It was then that something, very faint, triggered his mind. He shut his eyes tight as a throbbing at the front of his skull grew and he found himself looking at a cracked memory.

* * *

><p>There was a group of dark shadows, hiding behind trees and shrubbery, looking in on Arkham Asylum. But there was one member of the group, the smallest, that hung back and shivered ever slightly, even though there was no wind, no breeze.<p>

A figure, a dark but lithe figure, noticed this and, in a flash, was by the smaller one's side instantly. Robin recognized that blur: Kid Flash!

"C'mon, Rob! Don't worry, it's only Scarecrow in there…" The speedster rested a hand on the figure that Robin now recognized as himself. The others were there too: Miss Martian, Aqualad, Superboy…Even Speedy.

Miss Martian and Superboy couldn't offer much words for support since they had never gone up against this villain before, but they did agree on one thing: "We _promise_ you will be fine…"

Kaldur nodded his agreement, but Robin's memory figure shook his head and removed Wally's hand. "I've tasted Scarecrow's fear gas before and it leaves a nasty after taste I don't want to have again…" He took a hesitant step backwards, into the shadows, looking for something familiar.

Speedy stepped forward and Robin's memory stopped. "Robin, you trust me; yes?" There was a slight nod, and Red Arrow extended his hand. "Then stick by me and I _promise_ that I will not let Scarecrow touch you." The figure grinned, and as he grabbed Speedy's hand, the memory faded.

* * *

><p>Robin opened his eyes and gasped as laughter once again filled him with torture. "Stop…" He pleaded again.<p>

The laughter turned into something far worse: a hoarse, hollow mirth that grated on Robin's ears. He looked up to see a tall figure standing there, laughing. But his mouth didn't move. His head was concealed by what appeared to be a sack with a sewn mouth and slits for eyes. The rest of his body was also hidden in a large sack suit.

The figure looked like an over-sized rag doll, and Robin felt terrified as he screamed for someone to help him…

And that's when he woke up.

.._~_

**Mwahaha! Cliff hanger for you guys! Wow, that was an intense chapter to write! I hope it meets your standards! PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!**

**Can't believe I just killed everybody…**


	12. Wake to Figments

**Jedi Ani Unduli**: **See, when you said that Robin wanted to retreat, I figured that he knew that it was a trap and they needed to regroup and redo their plans so they could take down the Scarecrow without getting gassed all at once.**

**Tydeerose: when the fear toxin wears off you should have him screaming stuff in romanian(his first langage) well his first langage is really romani but there r no free translators for that so...**

**Icey: I want to thank all you guys for reviewing and giving me better ideas for this chapter! I've been editing it as I get more reviews and I hope it has gotten more enjoyable for you! :)**

**Ok, so most of you guys believe it was a dream, while some others believe it was Scarecrow… Well, I will not say that neither one of you teams are wrong, but I will point out the memory in the last chapter; it may give you people another look at what's been going on.**

**So, without any further ado, here is chapter 12!**

.._~_

It wasn't immediate consciousness; far from it, I must say. The warehouse faded into little pieces, like broken glass, and Robin felt himself floating through a dark tunnel. The laughter became less and less, until Robin could release his pained head and relax. His mind shut down as he lay on the floor of the moving tunnel. He allowed his eyes to drift close and that's when he started hearing voices.

The voices were muffled, and distant, but he could make out one voice in particular. It was right by his ear and was barking at someone in a hushed whisper. Slowly, Robin felt light hit his closed eyes and he moaned, trying to shift into a more comfortable position; but his hands and feet wouldn't move, and something hard jammed into his ribs.

He cried out – or at least tried to. A cool hand was pressed to his forehead, and he realized how warm he felt. Robin was vaguely becoming aware that his throat was sore. The voices got clearer.

"Robin? Dicky, come on… Come on, open your eyes." Robin tried to cooperate with the voice he was sure was Roy's; but Roy was dead…Right? His eyelids fluttered some and he tried to shift again; he didn't like a dead person touching him.

"Someone get the restraints off! He's coming to!" KF? But, Wally had been shot…

"I'll get them," and angry, deep voice marched toward Robin and he whimpered some. The hand on his forehead shifted to his cheek and the owner of it shushed him. Robin heard crunching of metal and his wrists, legs, and abdomen were free. He slowly opened his eyes, wishing he hadn't. The light was way too bright and he was pulled to a chest as the voice barked, "Someone get the lights! They're too bright! Morons…"Robin muttered something incoherent even to him and immediately looked toward who was cradling him.

Speedy!

But Speedy was dead! The knife in his chest. Robin quickly pushed away, lapsing into Romanian as he screamed "În cazul în care sunt eu? Ce sa întâmplat? Stai departe! Toţi dintre voi! Eşti mort!"(Where am I? What's happened? Stay back! All of you! You're dead!) He scampered as far away from the figment in front of him.

"Dicky, you're fine. It's us, all of us: Miss M, Kaldur, Conner, even Wally's here…" Speedy waved a hand over the crowd and sat on the bed; Robin flinched. A look of hurt washed over the older teenager's face, but he plastered on his kind smile.

"Nr…"(no) Robin muttered helplessly, drawing his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. "Nu, eşti mort şi că, că ... Nu e nimic să-l ... Trebuie să fiu mort prea."(No, you're dead and that's that... There's nothing to it... I must be dead too.)

Wally cringed and moved forward ever so lightly; why'd the kid have to go talk in Romanian at times like this? "Robby…Batman's out trying to capture Scarecrow. You were subjected to a major amount of his fear gas; you were in a coma for almost two weeks. We were all terrified…"

Megan stepped forward with a motherly smile on her face, uncertain the boy even understood her. "We got that after taste you were talking about before we entered Arkham…"

Robin shook his head sadly and laid it against the headboard. Speedy tried to comfort him, but the Boy Wonder slapped the hand away, shrieking finally in English, "NO! You're dead; all of you! I saw you die! I saw Bruce die! You're all gone! You left me!" Robin felt tears spring from his uncovered eyes and fall down his face. "Sunt singur din nou ..." (I'm alone again...)

Roy clenched his fists in tight balls; He understood what the boy had whispered. Wally backed up slightly from the enraged teenager. Roy's face darkened and Kaldur guessed he was envisioning murdering the psychotic psychologist that had done this. Kaldur shuddered at the memory of his hallucination: Altantis was destroyed, including the queen and her child, the king, Tulia…Everyone, gone.

The team had been called because a certain villain that was kept in Arkham Asylum was running lose in the halls; the villain was called Scarecrow, and immediately Robin had went in full blown alert mode. When they had reached the asylum, Robin had actually wanted to retreat. He figured it was a trap and wanted to come up with another plan. It had taken the whole team to push him into the shadows, and only Speedy to draw him out, making the Boy Wonder believe in the plan once again.

They had then stormed the place and fought off the escaped inmates. Robin had done what Robin does best: disappeared. When they caught up to him, he was unconscious on the floor and screaming in agony through tears streaking his face. Wally was the first to reach his side, followed closely by Roy. Both were immediately hit with fear gas from the hiding Scarecrow.

Megan rushed forward to try and stop the now terrified teenagers, but she was, too, got a taste of the fear gas.

It was Superboy's turn, and he went all 'animal-instinct' on the entire asylum (it would later take the whole League to calm Superboy and give him the antidote).

Kaldur was the last one to be hit with the fear gas, but before he had drowned in his nightmare he witnessed Scarecrow kneel next to the prone body of the Boy Wonder. He heard the Scarecrow whisper, "It's only just begun…"

When the team came to again, Batman had informed them that because Robin had already been subjected to fear gas once before, the effects this time around would be twice as bad. "Each time to breath the temporary hallucinogen, the effect worsens… I should know."

Everyone had gotten knocked with the fear toxin, but Robin was the worst. They didn't need to know what he had dreamed of while in the coma; it was evident with each scream he let out in his sleep. Batman had ordered everyone stay clear of his protégé until he was better, but Speedy wouldn't. Everyone had shared their hallucinations, except the lone-archer, who had went against Batman's orders and stayed with Robin daily and nightly when the Dark Knight wasn't around.

And, of course, Wally followed, causing Superboy to follow, causing Megan to follow… So Kaldur followed, thinking he might as well join them.

Superboy had hallucinated about Cadmus and living under their hold, killing Megan, Kaldur, Wally, and Robin.

Megan had her nightmare on losing her uncle and planet.

Kaldur was Atlantis being completely destroyed.

And Wally's fear turned out to be losing every known food on planet earth, being left to eat dirt for the rest of his life…

And Speedy… Well, Speedy hadn't said anything, but Megan told the team that he radiated waves of regret, anger, and sadness; all in all, the tough, determined archer was troubled greatly.

And now, with Robin whimpering and crying at the head of his bed, the team could only look on in sadness and worry.

Superboy brought Kaldur back from his thoughts. "What has he been speaking?"

Roy growled and turned on the clone in anger. "Romanian, his home tongue…"

Miss Martian swallowed cautiously. "What did he say…just then?"

Roy turned back to Dick's tense form. "He said he was alone again…"

"Mama, tata, Bruce, KF ... Toată lumea care a promis ..."(Mother, Father, Burce, KF...Everyone who promised..." The Boy Wonder let out a hoarse chuckle, raising tormented eyes to Roy. "Even Alfred..."

The boy Wonder sighed and rested his pounding head against the head board, closing his eyes slowly.

Roy was angry, and Wally didn't really want him to blow up and wake Robin again. The speedster shoved the archer out of the room and shut the door quickly. Apparently, the toxin had worn off, making Dick sleep peacfully for the first time in two weeks. M'gann was exhausted, feeling the youngest team member's mental, physical, and emtional torment. Now that the boy was sleeping peacfully, she needed rest too. Superboy escourted her to her room.

That left Wally and Kaldur'ahm. Said Atlantian tuned to his comrade. "What else was Robin saying?"

Wally hesitated in his shake of the head, causing Kaldur to become suspicious. "You too are close to Robin, just like Roy… Surely you know the language."

Wally shrank back. "Yes, I know the language; but that doesn't mean I care to repeat what he said…" His reply was curt and harmful.

Kaldur stayed quiet. The minutes ticked by until the silence was broken by metallic footsteps and quiet, tired voices. Wally stood from the bed and turned toward the door. In stepped Red Tornado, followed by an angry Speedy, now out of civvies and in hero clothes, Superboy, and M'gann.

The robot took in the missing restraints and turned to stare at Suerboy for a moment, before turning his attention to the Martian girl. "M'gann, has the toxin worn off?"

Megan nodded. "The fear toxin has worn off; I used my telepathy to check."

The robot then turned to Superboy. "Why did you remove his restraints?"

Superboy glowered at the hero. "He came to and wasn't thrashing about…" Superboy shrugged, hoping his lie was good enough to cover for Speedy. But Red Tornado seemed to hesitate and was about to question further when Roy spoke up.

"I told him too… Dick was not fully aware of what was going on; he lapsed into Romanian many times, saying that we were all dead and that he must be dead too…"

Red Tornado watched the Archer in deep thought for a moment before turning to the door.

"I must inform Batman to this new development; and be assured that he will deal with you kids for disobidience." And with that, Red Tornado exited the scene, leaving the broken team behind…

.._~_

**Okk, so, I know you guys were probably expecting Robin to freak out and run around screaming "WHERE THE HECK IS BATMAN"… Well, he's still in a partial coma due to the toxin, sooo, he's still a little out there. And he's still not fully sure if this is reality, again, due to the toxin's affects.**

**Robin: You make me sound so weak…**

**Icey: Dude, you were subjected to the fear toxin, in a coma for nearly TWO weeks, and had a terrible hallucinating dream where everyone you every cared about DIED! I pretty sure any sane person would be a little scared after that…**


	13. Breakdown and Waking

**Icey: So, I figured out what was bothering me and why I couldn't write this, and I did absolutely nothing about it. *grins stupidly* So, let's see how well this chapter goes… *evil-grin***

**Robin: I really hate you…**

**Icey: Hey, I didn't really kill your friends and family…it was all a hallucination that you can blame on Scarecrow next time you see him!**

**Robin: *gulp* I'm gonna see him again…?**

**Icey: *more evil-grinning* ON WITH THE STORY!**

.._~_

Red Tornado had contacted Batman. The Caped Crusader had been ecstatic to hear that Robin had awakened, though he tried to hide his emotions behind the cowl.

"So, he was coherent?" Batman asked, quelling his fear.

Red Tornado tipped his head to the side. "Red Arrow mentioned that he was aware that his teammates were there, but kept insisting that they couldn't, seeing as how they were dead…"

Batman frowned (not that he wasn't frowning before; the dude's gotta have frown lines!) and thought for a moment. "So, he might still be hallucinating, right?"

Red Tornado just looked at the Dark Knight. "You know what it means, Bruce…"

Batman glared and the connection was lost.

.._~_

Roy was in the training room, practicing his stringing. He didn't pay attention to Green Arrow entering the room; he instead focused on drawing an arrow from his quiver, stringing it on his bow, and releasing it. The arrow rushed through the air with a _whoosh_ as his string bounced; the arrow lodged itself in the wall with a _crack_.

Green Arrow winced. "You sure you wanted to do that…?" He was looking at the many cracks and crevices that now adorned the wall around the shaft.

Roy walked calmly to the wall and broke the shaft from the arrow trying to dislodge it from the wall. "Be careful what you ask, Oliver; you may find yourself a little too close for comfort with one of my arrows."

The older archer chuckled; he CHUCKLED! In the face of danger, face it with vigor… "You haven't lost your spark, my boy. But you shouldn't be taking your anger out on the wall; after all, Batman is coming by to check on Robin, and the boy will be fine; we'll get through this together, Speedy…"

Red Arrow glared from behind his domino mask and got ready to fire another arrow. He pulled the string back as far as his strength could and, turning before releasing, let the arrow soar through the air.

_THUNK_

Green Arrow gasped. The shaft of the arrow could just barely be seen from Green Arrow's peripheral vision. He stood deathly still; Roy had never, NEVER, placed Oliver in any form of danger. The older archer stared straight ahead, not wanting to aggravate Red Arrow further, as Roy walked calmly across the training room.

Speedy stopped inches from his previous mentor. His hand slowly rose to grasp the shaft of the arrow and pull; this time the arrow didn't break, but returned to its master. Roy leaned in closer to Oliver, his glare never once faltering.

"Don't try to rebuild trust when it never had a foundation to start with…" And with that, Roy quickly left the room, leaving behind a bewildered Green Arrow in his wake…

.._~_

Kaldur stared out past the water of the ocean that sheltered Mount Justice. The waves lapped at the sandy shore and Kaldur couldn't help but reminisce of the days that he had spent out in the water with his team, with a strong Robin. Now he watched as his team slowly fell apart.

He had been the first one to awaken from hallucinating, and it had been difficult to watch each of his teammates be strapped to a medical bed, screaming and writhing in pain and torment. M'gann had been the next one to awaken, and she had been quite, remorseful, trying not to get emotional over the torture Kaldur knew she felt off of the others, but failing.

She had cried in his arms constantly, until Superboy had awakened, snapping his constraints in two when he caught the sound of M'gann's sobs. Kaldur had handed the weeping Martian over to Superboy after the clone had been checked out by the doctor. Now, the team just had to wait for Wally and Roy.

Wally's hallucination had actually caused the group to laugh when he woke up. Seriously, having all the food in the world vanish was lame…compared to the ones the rest of the team had experienced…

Roy was last to awaken, and he had refused to share his hallucination. When requested, M'gann simply stated that she could not enter Roy's mind and retrieve the information; his mind was too well guarded… Not even Wally, the person Roy thought of a s a brother, could get the information out of the stoic archer.

They had waited, watched, as Robin stayed in a coma for weeks. He had called out for Kaldur and the Atlantian had had to excuse himself so he could cry in private. Never had his name been spoken with such love, such trust, such pain…

Think back over the details of Robin's torture, Kaldur softly punched the ground, watching as even that little action caused a dent in the rock beneath him. He stared at the mark for a while, before he heard his name being called. Snapping from his daze he looked across the ocean, the beach, to spot his king racing towards him. Kaldur stood to greet Aquaman. His mentor was here, and everything would be alright…

.._~_

M'gann was cooking; she cooked to clear her head; she cooked to calm herself; she cooked when she was happy, sad, angry, or worried…

She just cooked!

So far, her collection consisted of three burnt rhubarb pies, two horrible batches of carrot soup, fifteen batches of cookies (counting the ones that KF had already downed), and she was starting on another cake. Superboy was absently watching the static lines flicker across the television screen, but M'gann didn't offer to change the channel. She was worried, and cooking was her number one priority right now!

She focused all her attention on mixing the batter and pouring it into a cake pan. She didn't notice her uncle step inside the kitchen, nor did she notice the way his face fell when he spotted all the disastrous treats and dirty dishes.

"M'gann…" He began softly.

She whirled around, dropping the jar of sugar she had been telepathically transporting to her outstretched hand. It slammed to the ground, breaking apart into tiny little pieces.

"Oh no! Oh, oh! I'm so sorry! Ohh…" M'gann knelt to gather up the sugar and pieces of glass; J'onn joined her in cleaning the floor. She gingerly plucked a shard of glass from the sugary pile and froze at who stared back at her: the girl was M'gann, yes, but her eyes were red and puffy, her freckles stood out against stark Martian skin, and her cheeks were flushed with fatigue.

All of her appearance reminded her of what she had seen in Robin's dream; she had telepathically connected herself with the young boy when he was comatose, and regretted doing so. In the connection she had seen what he had seen, gone through what he had gone through, felt what he had felt…

She knew it would be a while before the little bird would fly again.

She knew he had gone through Hell and back, only to start the journey over again when another one of his close friends had died.

M'gann was too caught up in her thoughts to realize she was clutching the shard of glass to her chest, drawing blood from her hand, and weeping bitterly on the kitchen floor until her uncle's strong arms enveloped her in a gentle embrace.

"Uncle J'onn, he's gone through so much; why? Why does he have to suffer? He watched his parents be murdered! And now he thinks that everyone else is dead, gone, out of his life; he's so afraid of being alone!" M'gann choked on a sob, drenching her uncle's battle suit in her salty tears.

"I know, M'gann. He was but a boy when his life was ripped from him; we have to be gentle with him… Ease him back into reality." J'onn patted M'gann's back soothingly.

The Martian girl pulled away and looked at her mentor. "How can we ease him into reality when he thinks everyone is dead? Even if we showed him pictures or places from his life, he's still going to believe that his dead!" She looked down at the bloody shard in her hand. "It's like a glass jar, Uncle; once the jar is broken, you can glue it back together-" she floated the glue to her and commenced to stick two shards together. Afterwards, she scooped up some sugar and let it rest on the two shards. "-but there are still cracks that reality slips through…" To emphasize her point, she lifted the two shards and, sure enough, the sugar slipped through the crack and back onto the floor. "We can't fix him, Uncle… He's a bird with a broken wing."

Uncle J'onn was silent, but he finally spoke, his deep voice giving comfort to his young niece. "You are young, not nearly as young as Robin, but he has seen things that you have had the blessing of not having to witness. You have learned of the hardships that Earthlings face and you have learned some firsthand. But you never broke, and I am proud of you for that." He tipped her tear stained face upwards. "And I am proud of you for that."

M'gann sniffled and looked back down at the bloody shard. "How can we help him, Uncle J'onn?"

Martian Manhunter stood up. "I do not know, niece. He believes all of us are dead, and if he views places from his past he will merrily believe they are placed in his 'dead' state from his memories. There really is nothing we can do for him."

But M'gann had stopped listening; he didn't believe _all_ of them were dead. A certain, adult archer was still alive in Robin's dream. M'gann stood up and floated out of the room quickly.

"M'gann?" Martian Manhunter called after her and Superboy merrily glanced at her retreating figure. But she didn't stop, and she didn't drop the shard either.

.._~_

Poor Superboy… He was suffering too. He knew how M'gann felt. He hated super hearing sometimes, because that meant he was able to hear M'gann's sobs filtering through the noise from the television to Superboy's ears. He was able to hear her compare Robin to a broken jar, hear Manhunter console the hurting girl (the whole time wishing it could be him), and he had to hold himself to the couch to not interrupt the consoling session.

He wanted to help M'gann, partially because he had this feel in his heart whenever she was around him (Wally had said it was love, but Superboy still didn't understand after the explanation was given), but also because he knew how she felt. Part of him had died watching the happiest, youngest member of the team slowly writhe in pain on that stupid stupid medical bed for nearly two weeks.

But poor Superboy…

No one would come to help Superboy through this hard time.

After all, he finally decided, he was _just_ a clone…

.._~_

Kid Flash tossed an apple in the air and caught it again, only to repeat the procedure. He wasn't hungry; sure, he had eaten a boat load of food from M'gann, but he had only done so hoping to make the Martian girl feel better. When it didn't work, KF had grabbed an apple and left to sulk in his room.

His best friend was in agony, broken and hurt, and there was nothing the speedster could do about it. He had to watch as Robin slowly fell apart. Kid Flash had stayed with Robin, listening to his screams, his feverish mumblings, and his sobs that echoed so horribly perfectly in the sterile medical room. Kid Flash had to watch as Robin thrashed on the pristine white sheets, pulling at his restraints, begging for the lives of his parents, of Roy, of Megan, Kaldur, Superboy…Kid Flash.

KF knew M'gann had truly witnessed Robin's hallucination due to her telepathy, but for Wally he had felt emotionally drained after the ordeal. He knew M'gann had it the roughest, actually going through the ordeal with Robin, but he still felt like it was hardest for him.

And then there was Roy…

KF flinched as he missed the apple and it clonked him on the head. He sat up moaning and holding his nose. "Oww…"

"Hey, slugger…" Wally looked up to see his uncle standing in the door way. The younger speedster moaned and slumped back against Robin's bed.

"How's Robby?" Wally asked.

Flash smiled. "He's stable; at least he's out of his coma…"

Wally stared straight forward and muttered, "But not out of the trance…"

Flash's smile vanished and he swallowed, taking a seat on the Boy Wonder's bed. "You know, from what I heard, he witnessed some pretty horrific stuff in his hallucination…"

Wally snorted and scoffed. "From what you heard? You weren't there, Uncle Barry, when he started screaming my name; you weren't there when he begged for my life…For Superboy's life, for Roy's, for M'gann's, for Kaldur's…" Wally swallowed the lump in his throat, shaking his head. "No, you haven't heard anything…" Wally turned over on Robin's bed so he was facing the wall, not wanting his mentor to see his tears.

Flash wasn't sure what to say. No, he really hadn't experienced anything. He had no knowledge of what went on in that medical room; only Black Canary, Batman, and Red Tornado were supposed to have been admitted; but that stupid, deserter called Red Arrow had decided to try and play hero and help out. Help out; BAH! He hadn't done anything but make matters worse.

He wanted Red Arrow gone; out of the picture! Why couldn't the archer just drop off the face of the planet? Why couldn't-

"Quit blaming Roy!" Wally snapped at Flash. Flash, shocked out of his musings, realized he had been clutching the bedding in anger. His jaw cracked lightly as he relaxed all tense muscles and bones. Flash turned his gaze to Wally. The boy's back was to him, but his voice was still crisp and clear. "If Roy hadn't been the one to suggest the idea of breaking the rules, I was going to…" Wally rolled over, but never met Flash's eyes. Barry could see the glisten in the green eyes, but stayed still. "I wasn't going to leave Robin alone… He would've done the same for me."

The dup sat in silence for a few moments, before Barry took a hold of Wally's shoulder and forced him to make eye contact. "But you disobeyed a direct order and witnessed some horrific things in that medical room that you weren't supposed to see." Barry paused to take in a breath, but before he could continue Wally sat straight up, flushed with anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was the direct order to go after Scarecrow and not get knocked with the fear toxin, when in reality we went after Scarecrow and did indeed get hit with the toxin? Because, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have avoided that; the whole darn mission was a set-up from the beginning! Or, or was the direct order to stay away from Robin, when in reality we gave support to our friend during his hallucination? Because, as far as I'm concerned, we've all grown a lot stronger through this experience!"

Barry opened his mouth to retort something to his hot-headed nephew when a piercing scream echoed throughout the Mountain. Wally's eyes widened as he recognized the sound; he'd heard it enough in the past few weeks to know that was Dick! Immediately, Wally was gone, running faster than he ever had before. He reached the medical ward first, followed closely by Roy, Superboy, and Kaldur. The sight that met them was heartbreaking:

Batman stood by Robin's bed while the Boy Wonder was crouched in a corner, curled in the fetal position. His shoulders were shaking, and another scream ripped past his throat. Batman flinched and recoiled from his son's side. Red Tornado stood by, ready to intervene, with Black Canary. Young Justice Mentors – except for Green Arrow – joined the younger protégés in the doorway, watching the horrific scene unfold.

Robin's scream turned into his laughter, and Wally flinched while Roy visibly tensed. What the heck did the kid find so funny? Their answer was given in between the boy's giggles.

"Haha, Bat, haha, man! The, hehe, Caped Crusader! HAHA! Invincible! HAHAHA! Not anymore, eh, Daddy-bats? Now we're all dead together." Robin broke off into laughter again as he rocked back and forth in the bright white room.

"Did he now have a run in with the Joker and his laughing gas?" Flash quipped, and Roy drew back his fist for a punch. Wally grabbed Roy's arm and dragged it back down.

"Easy, Speedy…" Wally soothed, and Roy turned his attention back on the Dynamic Duo. Batman was now trying to calm Robin down.

"Robin, it's ok, it's alright. See? We're all here. Wally, Kaldur'ahm, Roy… Flash, Red Tornado, Aquaman. We're all alive…. Even you." Batman pointed a gloved finger at Robin. The boy's laughter stopped. And he stared quizzically at the door where Aquaman stood besides Kaldur.

"But you're not dead…" Robin tipped his head to the side. "You were in Atlantis…Right, Kaldur? I told you, Aquaman is in Atlantis. He was fine from the meteor shower…"

Kaldur nodded, not exactly sure how to respond. Everyone seemed to relax some, thinking the ordeal was over.

But Fate wasn't done twisting the strings of Life.

Robin's quizzical look turned to a grin and he started laughing again. Everyone tensed again, but mostly Batman and Red Arrow. "Ah-ha! No, no, GA! He-HAHA- he said that Aquaman would be fine _unless the meteors decided to land in the ocean! _HAHA! Too…Too funny. Te-hehe! We're dead! All dead!" Robin started rocking again, shaking his head that was now buried in his hands. He paused in his laughter and peeked over the tips of his fingers at the crowd around him. "Oh, come on, this is great! Now we don't have to worry about being separated again! I mean, once you're dead, you're dead!" And his laughter started again…

Roy's nostrils flared and he turned to leave, but stopped. He slowly shifted out of the way of the door, watching quizzically at a Martian girl and an archer clad in green waiting to enter the room. Wally glanced over his shoulder as Robin started off another round of laughter and followed Roy to the sidelines.

"What's going on?" Wally questioned as the blockage of superheroes in the doorway parted to allow M'gann and Green Arrow into the room.

"He didn't die…" Roy whispered.

Wally looked up at the older teenager. "Huh?"

"He didn't die." Roy's lips slowly turned into a smile.

Miss Martian floated into the room, escorting Green Arrow along. Robin was still watching the group, laughing all the while, wiping at his eyes that were watering. When Green Arrow came into his line of vision he froze, in all his movements, and stared at the archer. He dark eyes slowly cleared as he seemed to stare through Green Arrow. Slowly, he blinked and his gaze shifted so he was slowly moving over the group that crowded around the room, only to have his eyes come back and rest on Green Arrow.

"You didn't die…" He whispered, uttering similar words to Roy.

Green Arrow tipped his head to the side. "Huh?"

Déjà vu…

"You didn't die." Robin replied, louder this time. He looked at the Caped Crusader as tears rolled past his cheek and fell to the floor. "B-Bruce? We…You…" Robin smiled, before leaping into his father's embrace and crying softly. He screamed through sobs, "YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

.._~_

**Icey: Ok, so, this chapter needs some explaining. So, I thought I would show a breakdown of the team, from their points of view. You know, display their emotions and what they were thinking at this time. M'gann's was my favorite one to write! I love her comparison of Robin to a broken jar. Speaking of M'gann, why did she fly away quickly after her chat with Manhunter and bring Green Arrow to the medical ward?**

**M'gann: Remember, I witnessed Robin's hallucination through telepathy and I knew that Green Arrow hadn't died in the dream. And Robin needed something to draw him back to reality, so Green Arrow seemed the perfect way. And just to clarify things, I haven't told anyone what happened in the hallucination, but everyone has a pretty good idea from Robin's screaming and pleading; but no one knows who died and who didn't, exactly...  
><strong>

**Icey: Now, as for the reason behind each encounter with sidekick and mentor. Well, I'll let the team explain…**

**Roy: Icey wanted to display my more angry side, and the fact the Oliver still holds hope that I will join Young Justice and regain my position as Speedy. She wanted to portray my independence and the fact that there really is no way I'll come back…**

**Kaldur: Icey believes that I am the leader of the team because I can handle situations and stress fairly well. She portrayed this by having me work out the issues and emotions I was feeling by myself, before talking with my king.**

**M'gann: The motherly side had to be shown somewhere, and Icey also needed to tell her readers that I was connected deeply with Robin's hallucination. My scene explains some issues with Robin, how even if he saw familiar places and things from his life, he would merrily connect them to memories in death.**

**Superboy: My mentor's a jerk… Plain and simple.**

**Icey: In other words, I just wanted to make you guys feel bad for Supey…. XD**

**Wally: Just to show that the whole team is growing pretty far apart from our mentors and that we need to regain that relationship; also, Icey wanted to throw in some Wally&Dick friendship stuff, so that fit in pretty well. Also to show that even though the Leaguers say they understand, they truly don't because they weren't there to see Robby's pain…**

**Icey: So, long chapter to make up for the wait, and a long AN to explain things. Hope you enjoyed! PLEASE REVIEW! I WANT TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPTER! Oh, yeah, and you will learn what Roy's hallucination was very soon! Just hang tight...and you may want the tissues nearby 'cause it might be a teary one!  
><strong>


	14. Truth of a Hallucination

**Icey: Sorry if this chapter seems a bit dark, even though it's meant to be happy. Kinda felt a little angry, sad, and confused today, sooo….**

**Robin: you aren't going to take that out on me, are you?"**

**Icey: No, I prefer to make Roy depressed. *evil-grin***

**Roy: Why am I not surprised?**

**Wally: Disclaimer: Icey-Authoress does not own us! *pouts***

**Icey: Oh, I'm sure I could get partial custody.**

**Roy: ON WITH THE STORY!**

.._~_

After Robin's 'awakening', as Wally had called it, the Mountain had turned into a Justice League headquarter. Half, if not all, of the Leaguers had set up camp in the Mountain to keep an eye on the bird's recovery. Once Dick had come back to his senses, Wally hadn't left his side. Roy, on the other hand, had vanished. Not even M'gann could locate him.

At first, the medical room had been pandemonium as everyone went o greet the bird back to reality.

Wally's initial reaction to Robin's awakening had been expected. When the League was done greeting, Wally rushed in and pinned Robin in a bone crushing hug, which the crying Boy Wonder had gratefully returned. Wally, grinning from ear to ear, had kept screaming how relieved he was:

"OM-gosh! Don't ever do that to me again, Rob! That was horrible! I thought we would surely lose you; I was terrified!" Tears streaked the speedster's face, though his grin never faltered and his voice held nothing but joy.

Robin buried his face in Wally's chest and sobbed quietly. "I thought you were dead, Wally. I saw you die… I thought you were dead."

M'gann, crying from relief, had then peppered the young boy with questions. "Are you hurting anywhere? Do you want me to get you anything? Water; something to eat? Are you ALRIGHT?"

Robin had chuckled, before hiccupping some and gave the Martian girl a quick hug, before turning to answer the barrage of questions being thrown at him from both teams; no one noticed Red Arrow had slipped away. He hadn't even said hello to the Boy Wonder; just left…

When the team had realized this fact, Robin had gone quiet and Batman had ushered everyone from the room. "Robin needs his rest now…"

Wally was reluctant to leave, and Robin had hung onto his arm for a good while until Batman's glare made Robin to let go. Batman stayed with his son, talking softly.

"You know, you scared everyone really bad; when you didn't come right out of the coma, we were afraid it meant the affects were permanent." A now cowl-less Batman stroked black curls from the small face of his son.

"'m sorry, Daddy; I really thought you were really dead." Dick replied sleepily. His small hand was swallowed by Bruce's larger paw, and Dick gave it the best squeeze he could muster. Bruce laid a soft kiss on Dick's warm forehead.

"It's alright, son. I'm just glad you're back to us." He whispered, still stroking the black hair.

Suddenly, Richard snapped his eyes opened and breathed heavily, staring at Bruce. "You-you are still going to be here when I wake up, right? This isn't just a dream; you're still alive, right?"

Bruce smiled kindly. "Yes, Dick. I will be here, Wally will be here, M'gann, Superman, Green Arrow…But most importantly: _you_ will still be here."

Dick seemed satisfied, but his eyes once again snapped open to stare at his father. "Promise?"

Bruce smiled and gave his son a gentle kiss. "I promise."

Soon, the bird was sleeping soundly…

.._~_

It had been a total of three weeks since Robin had 'awaken', and still there had been no sign of a certain brotherly archer. Batman had insisted that Robin stay at Mount Justice where the League could keep an eye on him and protect him. Alfred had visited, bringing with him Robin's favorite cookies: molasses! At the moment, Wally and Dick were sharing a tin of said cookies. Wally, who was perched on a chair near Robin's med bed, noticed the light had gone from said bird's eyes. Wally frowned and moved to sit next to his younger brother on the bed.

"Don't worry, Dicky. Roy'll come around." Dick sighed and returned to making patterns on the bed sheets. Wally frowned; he was going to kill Roy next time he saw him. "Eat your cookie, Dick; before I do!" Wally plastered on a mischievous smile. Dick attempted to smile back, but failed miserably. In the end, he leaned against Wally, falling asleep still clutching the cookie. His head rested against the speedster's shoulder and his hand with the cookie rested on Wally's chest. Wally moved the boy to rest on the bed, bringing up the sheets around the pale frame. "Sleep well, Richard; maybe Batman will let you out of this room. It's not helping your health any."

But Wally knew that Batman was keeping Robin in the med room for safety precautions: in case he relapsed, in case Scarecrow was near (not that he could get pass all the Leaguers camping out around the mountain). But Wally knew that even getting out of the med room wouldn't help the young bird. What would help him would be to go back in time, to a place where he hadn't ingested fear gas, where Roy was still playing the role of big brother to perfection, where Richard could run to the archer for protection and comfort any time; but now…

Now Roy was failing.

Miserably.

As Wally's eyes slowly shut in his own dark room, he couldn't help but think how beautiful it would be to strangle that archer…

.._~_

Dick's eyes shot open and he panicked momentarily, remembering that his hallucination wasn't real. This had become a norm: go to sleep, relieve certain parts of the hallucination, wake up in a panic, calm down, and stay awake for the rest of the night… He'd talked to Black Canary about it, but she said nothing could be done; it was subconscious behavior.

The scene he had just witnessed in his dream was the talk with Speedy in the manor kitchen. Dick truly wanted to feel his older brother close again. He had so many questions to ask, so many pieces that were missing; was what the hallucination Speedy said true, or had Speedy left for his own selfish reasons?

Dick was betting on option number two.

After all, Dick hated to think Speedy was selfish; so his hallucination reacted to his, 'subconscious behavior'.

_RED ARROW, B06_

Dick shot up in bed. Had he heard the teleporter correctly? Quickly getting out of the med bed, Dick wrapped a thin blanket around his shoulders and shuffled quietly down the hall. He entered the spacious kitchen/living room center and looked over the dark room.

"What are you doing up?" A hollow voice questioned from the living room. Dick, somewhat startled, turned toward the voice. Sure enough, there was Speedy's silhouette. His back was towards the young bird, and Dick stepped forward some. "I asked you a question, Richard."

Dick flinched; Roy didn't call Dick Richard unless in fear or anger. He was guessing the latter at the moment. "I…" Dick hung his head. "I had a nightmare."

Roy's dark figure seemed to perk at this. "Nightmare? Your hallucination?"

Dick nodded mutely. "Yeah…" He answered softly. Roy shifted on the couch and patted the cushions awkwardly. Dick grinned. He plopped down next to his brother; but Roy still was turned away, not making eye contact. Dick's grin turned around to make a sad frown. "Where have you been, Speedy?" Roy flinched, but made no movement to tell. Dick sighed, but felt more like crying; dang, when'd he got so emotional? Oh, yeah, that's right…Everything began and ended with his stupid, useless, hallucination!

A soft, physical contact on his cheek made Dick return from his musings. He recognized the contact as Roy's hand, and he could clearly see Roy's eyes as the archer was now facing him. Roy removed his hand. "You were crying." Was the reply to the silent question.

Dick reached over and grabbed Roy's hand, keeping the older teen from turning away again. "I want to talk to you, but I can't have a one sided convo, dude." Dick smiled cheekily like he hadn't just been crying at his lost brother.

Roy sighed. He knew this had been coming… Every since he had awaken from his hallucination that he surprisingly had total control over himself in. "What do you want to talk about?" Roy shifted so he was totally facing the younger.

Dick thought for a moment, playing with Roy's hand. "Wally said you haven't told anyone your hallucination; you know it's only healthy if you do, that way the team can help you…"

Roy thought of glaring; growling crossed his mind; lashing out at the kid did too, followed closely by memories of his hallucination. He shook his head. "I am part of no team; I have no comrades. I need no comrades." Dick paused in his playing to stare at Roy, open mouthed. Roy frowned. "Close your mouth; I taught you better than to gape like a dead fish." Dick's jaw clicked shut and his attention was once again focused on Roy's hand.

"What was your hallucination?" Dick asked quietly, running out of mental energy to keep this useless conversation going; it was a lost cause from the beginning.

Roy crossed the scenarios in his head again: glaring, growling, punching, hallucination… Oh, yeah, that's right… Instead, he gently tugged on his hand still held in Dick's. But Dick wouldn't let it go; like it was some sort of lifeline. Roy frowned, diverting his eyes to the television. "You don't need to burden yourself with that information, Richard."

Dick frowned in frustration. "Then promise you'll answer this question."

Roy hesitated.

"Promise!" Dick's voice quivered.

Roy hesitated again, but gave a curt nod in reply.

Dick breathed in deeply.

"Why did you leave us?"

Roy froze. Telling the kid, punching the kid, ordering the kid back to bed…hallucination. He sucked in a shaky breath. He stood abruptly, pulling his hand with him, planning on leaving.

But Dick was adamant. "Why did you leave me?"

Roy froze; again. And, again, possible reactions ran through his mind, always ending in his hallucination.

No, teh hallucination wasn't all his; most of it belonged to Robin.

"You already know the answer."

Roy started walking away, only to be stopped by a glaring Wally in the hallway. The speedster stood with his hands on his hips, eyes lowered to slits that he glared through, his chin jutted out in defiance.

"Answer his questions, or so help me, I will strangle you!"

Dick looked on, hoping for an answer. Roy wanted to answer; he didn't want to break ANOTHER promise to the bird. But at the same time, he knew that if Dick knew the truth, it would break the bird…again… But Roy weighed his choices:

On one hand, he had his youngest, favorite brother to think about. Not keeping a promise in their 'brother pact', meant serious untrust. Yet, if he shared the reason, Dick would be broken and shattered.

On the other hand, Roy would have to face an enraged Wally, whether he said the truth or walked away; not too pretty.

Roy breathed deeply before punching the wall next to Wally. He stared at the dented wall, eyes glossed over in memory. His jaw was set firmly, and his teeth were clenched. Wally had relaxed his position, and Dick remained on the couch, watching from his safe perch. Roy finally rose his eyes to stare into similar eyes from Wally.

"I was there…" Dick's brow furrowed. "I saw the Hall be destroyed; I saw Robin's pain at losing Batman…I saw the picture, the manor, the way Robin was torn up… I shared a glass of milk with him, I spilled my guts, my soul, out to him in that messy kitchen…I drove him back to Mount Justice, I watched as he fought hard with Superman, going against the man of steel to keep him in the search; I saw Green Arrow take away my brother…I was there, and I made the mistake of breaking my promise… I made the mistake of being killed. I made the mistake of killing the light in his eyes. I made the mistake…" His eyes flickered to the couch. "I'm so sorry, Dick. I should have told you sooner. I should have told you I shared your dream."

.._~_

**Icey: O.O Whoa…**

**Wally: Hmm, it wasn't a tear jerker…and ti was short. and It took you awhile to update  
><strong>

**Icey: Well, sorry! It's 11 O'clock at night, for crying out loud! Geesh, give a girl a break! I have a life, too, Wal! *cahses speedster off stage*  
><strong>

**Roy: Kinda short, sorry for that.**

**Robin: Hope you enjoyed learning about Roy's hallucination.**

**Icey: *pauses in strangling Wally* Did you guys catch that fact that Roy was in Robin's hallucination? That they shared the same hallucination? Hope I didn't make that too vague… *returns to strangling Wally***

**Wally: H-elp!**


	15. Things might just change

**Icey: I AM SO SO SORRY FOR THE HUGE, MEGA, CATASTROPHIC DELAY IN THE UPDATES LATELY! School is starting a in a few weeks, I tried writing in a different style that ultimately gave me major writer's block, I can't seem to focus, my dog went to get his teeth cleaned and was put under anesthesia, I've been cramming in a lot of family time, and, ultimately, these events all led to no updates…**

**Robin: So? Why should I forgive you? You left us all hanging!**

**Roy: Especially after the revelation of my hallucination; you have some explaining to do!**

**Icey: T.T I'm sorry… I'm so very very sorry!**

**Wally: Icey-Authoress owns NOTHING!**

**Robin: …Thankfully…**

**Icey: *sobs***

.._~_

"I didn't want to tell you because I thought you would be mad at me… I didn't want you to know that I witnessed you at your weakest, and I thought you would be really mad at me for being the one to tell you about Batman's disappearance." Robin sniffled and Roy continued to rub his arm. After the news had came out, Wally had dragged a reluctant Speedy to the couch and sat him down, after which Robin had climbed in the young archer's lap. Roy had resorted to staring off into the dark space surrounding the three brothers, occasionally running a hand through Dick's hair or rubbing his arm. Wally had taken his position on the coffee table in front of his brothers; more as a sentry than an audience. He didn't want Roy to back out of this one again…

Dick shrugged half-heartedly. "If you remember, you already apologized; in thr dream, you said you were sorry and I forgave you."

"I know… When I left you in the hallucination, I thought maybe I could defeat the Joker and Poison Ivy, bring back Batman, and then end your torture quicker…But-"

Wally shook his head. "No 'buts', Roy…"

Roy took a deep breath and paused, holding it for a moment before continuing. "I knew it was a hallucination, but I had total control over myself in my head; it was kind of freaky, to know I could control myself when it wasn't even real… But it felt so real… Man, it felt real! I felt your pain at your parents' portrait, I knew how hard it was to have to be taken away from Young Justice, and I even knew how you felt when the Watchtower was destroyed…"

Wally leaned back, his hands outstretched to support his weight in a lax position. "So that's how you knew Green Arrow hadn't died? Because you witnessed everything?"

Roy's eyes slowly focused on Wally and he nodded. "I was witnessing Robin's hallucination, but I had control over myself…"

Robin frowned and shifted closer to his older brother. "It must have hurt…" He muttered.

Roy frowned in confusion and looked down at Dick. "What're you talking about?"

Dick shrugged. "When you were killed… It must have hurt…"

Roy sighed and returned to staring out into space, fiddling with the jet-black mop on his shoulder. "In a way, I guess it did; both physically and emotionally. I knew I'd broken a promise that I had made to you, and I couldn't stand that… It made me sad to think that I couldn't even help you; I couldn't even keep my promise…You know, to stay by your side and fight WITH you… I was never very good at helping you, or Wally, or being there when you guys needed me… I never was there to protect you, never could keep you guys from tragedy… I'm a horrible brother…" His grip around Dick tightened as if he were afraid the small form would suddenly break.

Wally shifted on the table in the long pause that followed. He really wished he could join the conversation; not so he could say something, but he seriously wanted to rip Roy apart limb from limb! Seriously, couldn't the guy see how appreciative he and Dick were? Someone desperately needed to see a therapist…

Dick suddenly sat up and turned to Roy. "But… You left…"

Roy's eyes turned cloudy and he stared at the floor. "Yeah, I did… Guess that's another one of my faults, huh?"

Wally snorted, and Dick shook his head. Wally decided to join the conversation. "No, it wasn't; just misjudged, that's all…"

Dick nodded in agreement. "But, I have to ask you… You left-"

"That's been established…" Roy cut in.

"-Because, for what we thought, because you were mad at the Justice league for keeping information from us, not trusting us, and for not seeing our potential as…_sidekicks_…" Roy cringed and Wally shuddered; no one, and I mean NO ONE, appreciated that word… But Dick continued. "But, what you said…in our hallucination…you said that you left because you saw potential in me and Wally and you wanted us to see our worth. So, I want the truth: which is it?" Dick resorted to a Rob-glare (not-as-potent-as-'Bat-glare'-glare) when Roy didn't respond.

Wally leaned forward and once again joined the conversation. "You promised, Roy. You promised to talk with Dick and answer his questions. And if you don't, not only will I hurt you in every possible way, you would have once again broken a promise…"

Roy grimaced, but eventually sighed and gave in. "You're right, Wal… What I said to you, Richard, was the truth; I knew you guys could be so much better if you were on your own and I wanted you guys to see that. I placed a sliver of doubt and it grew until you yourselves were convinced that you could handle super hero work."

Wally took a seat by Roy and said archer pulled him to his side. "But Cadmus… You couldn't have known about that… You didn't know the fire would have been set…Did you?"

Roy grinned as Dick relaxed against him. "You could say I had help from a certain Gnome…"

Wally seemed shocked, as did Richard. "Wait, you knew everything? About Superboy, about Cadmus, about EVERYTHING?"

Roy shook his head. "No, I only knew that Cadmus was a front for experiments, and that these experiments concerned G-nomorphs. But that's all; I didn't know about Project Kr, and I definitely did not know Cadmus was working with…" Roy trailed off, realization that the Team didn't know about the Light finally dawning on him. But the younger ones didn't seem to notice; Dick was almost asleep, his eyes drooping shut. Wally was yawning and Roy realized the time was nearing 4 O'clock. "You guys should get some sleep." Roy muttered, relaxing and laying his head back, eyes shutting.

Dick tightened his grip on Roy's shirt. "Will you be here when I wake up…?"

Wally yawned, unfazed by the question; the poor kid had been asking that ever since he had woken up from the hallucination! Roy, on the other hand, was a little taken back thinking Dick didn't trust him. "Will I…?" Roy smiled briefly, realizing that he would be there when Dick and Wally woke up. "Yes, I'll be here and I'll stay here as long as you need me…"

The trio ended up falling asleep, curled up in each other's arms, on the couch; and when daybreak came, they would still be there...Together.

.._~_

Oliver Queen hadn't planned on going to the Mountain today; it was a Tuesday, and he should really be searching for Scarecrow like the rest of the League. But he felt drawn towards the Mountain. He passed through the front door, the computer announcing his arrival. The Mountain was eerily silent; Black Canary wasn't training the team (she was out looking for Scarecrow with everyone else), Wally wasn't running around wreaking havoc, M'gann wasn't doing the laundry, Kaldur wasn't doing research or swimming, and Dick wasn't in the infirmary.

Green Arrow was perplexed. As far as he knew, Batman hadn't visited the Mountain in four days so the Team couldn't be out on a mission. There was one last person he could search for and that would be Superboy. It wasn't hard to find places that Superboy would be: the weight room or the living room. GA opted for the living room and his search wasn't fruitless; though it wasn't the apprentice he was looking for.

Instead of finding Superboy, he found Dick, Wally, and…Roy? Dick and Wally were curled besides one another on the couch, fast asleep, and Roy was situated in the kitchen with a bowl cradled in one arm and a spoon stirring the content in his other hand. Oliver's face was pure shock, but Roy just sent him an icey glare, eyes blinking slowly and near slits.

"What do you want?" Roy questioned, emotionlessly.

Oliver snapped from his stupor. "Uh, I was here to check on Robin…"

Roy nodded to the couch. "Robin's fine."

Oliver slowly nodded. "Y-yeah, I can see that…" A beat. "Where is everyone?"

Roy turned to pour the batter in the waffle maker. "They went out; Superboy and Megan needed new clothes for school, so Kaldur decided to tag along. It's just us three."

Oliver nodded slowly again. "I see; are you making them M&M waffles?" _Like you used to…_

Roy stiffened, but then continued to pour the batter. "Couldn't find any M&Ms, so chocolate chips will have to do…" He grabbed a handful of said sweet and dropped them in the waffle batter slowly, meticulously.

Oliver took a seat on a stool and watched. "Hmm, you love chocolate chip cookies; they're your favorite!"

"Not anymore." Roy replied even before Oliver had finished his sentence.

Sadi archer's face fell some. "Oh…"

A beat.

A beat.

Another beat.

"What is it you want?" Roy snapped, turning to send a glare at his previous-mentor.

Oliver swallowed uncomfortably under Roy's analytical gaze. "I…I came to check how Robin was."

Roy snorted, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. "Yeah, you already said that; why are you _still _here, though?"

Oliver looked away from the younger archer. "I…I want to know how _you_ are, Roy…" Roy's eyes widened fractionally before returning to glaring; but it didn't go unnoticed by Oliver. "The team has been worried about you; they say you've been quiet and distant since your hallucination. I just wanted to know if everything was alright."

Oliver returned his gaze to Roy, who hadn't shifted. "I'm fine." He forced out. "I'm just fine."

A beat.

The waffle machine started beeping and Roy turned his attention to scooping them out and refilling the contained with batter. Place waffles on tray, batter, chocolate chips, close lid, push button… Each movement was mechanically done, as if Roy was merrily stalling before having to turn back to Oliver. The archer superhero noticed this and stood, grabbing his bow from where it rested on the counter.

"I see, then… Guess I'll be going now. Tell Robin and Wally hey for me, would'ya?" The only reply he got from the turned archer was a grunt. "Alright then, Roy… Goodbye." Oliver turned to leave and got five steps toward the hall.

"…Thank you…"

The whisper was barely audible, but Oliver heard it. He turned back around to see Roy had stopped in all preparations of breakfast. He just stared down at the counter in front of him where a tray of waffles lay, untouched and warm. Oliver took a hesitant step forward, not believe what he'd heard.

"W-what?" He questioned.

Roy took a deep breath, and reiterated what he'd just said in a louder tone. "Thank you."

Oliver was surprised. He blinked. "For what?"

Roy turned around and looked at Oliver. He motioned to the couch where the younger kids still slumbered. "For bringing Dick back…"

Oliver straightened some and glanced around nervously. "Oh, that, um…" His eyes came back to rest on Roy who now stared at the floor. "Well, you're welcome."

Roy lifted his eyes and there was something akin to respect that flickered behind the blue orbs. He nodded once, and Oliver smiled back before leaving the Mountain the computer once again announcing his departure.

Neither noticed the blue and green eyes that had witnessed the exchange from the living room couch with wide smiles plastered on their faces…

.._~_

**Icey: Do you guys want me to have Batman capture Scarecrow or do you guys want Young Justice to?  
>AWW, Oliver and Roy were *somewhat* nice to each other!<strong>

**Green Arrow: Give me a hug, kiddo!**

**Roy: Uh, no…**

**Icey: Sorry, GA! He doesn't like giving hugs…**

**Roy: no, I don't…**

**Reno: Hey, did you guys make Icey-Authoress cry?**

**Wally: WHAT THE HECK? What's Reno doing in here? He's not part of the story!**

**Reno: *gives Icey a hug* You made her cry! How dare you! *chases Wally, Roy, and Robin with his EMR***

**Green Arrow: *sweatdrop* We still don't know what you're doing in this story…**

**Icey&Reno: PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Icey: Reno will give a hug to whoever does! ;D**


	16. Batman, Stage Right

**Icey: Batman, enter! Stage Right!**

**Robin: *squeals* Daddy!**

**Wally: *facepalm***

**Roy: Icey-Authoress owns nothing…**

**Reno: I'm still ticked at you guys…**

**Roy: WHAT'S HE STILL DOING HERE?**

.._~_

Dick stumbled quietly into the kitchen and tugged on Roy's shirt. "Rrrroooyyy! I'm hungry! When are we going to eat?" Dick pouted and questioned childishly. Green Arrow had just left, and Dick was hungry! Roy snapped from his musing and looked down at the thirteen year old. His frown turned to a smile.

"Soon, just a moment. The waffles are almost done."

"Snnf-ugh!" Wally sat up straight; his hair stood up in every which direction and his eyes were glossy with sleep as he turned to look at the duo in the kitchen. "Sub'buddy snay sub'thing 'butt waffles…"

Both Roy and Dick laughed. "I find it amusing how he only got the word 'waffles' right in that sentence…" Dick commented, wiping a stray tear.

"Alright, boys, sit and eat your waffles." Roy placed two plates on the bar. Dick did a summersault over the counter and Wally supersped to the food, still half-asleep. Only Dick and Wally were aware that KF's sleepiness was an act to prevent Roy from finding out they had been spying.

Both attacked their plates with vigor, and chatted with Roy eagerly. The morning was calm and soothing to the boys; whereas the Batcave was experiencing a stormy and aggravated morning…

.._~_

Back at the Batcave, Batman sat in his computer chair typing furiously at the keyboard. His face was a stoic and emotionless as ever; but inside he was a raging ball of fury that could only be quenched with the knowledge that Scarecrow was once again put away safely. Batman lowered his eyes to slits and stared as information glided past his screen in an angry flash. There had to be something on the psychotic psychologist to point Batman in the right direction!

Bruce angrily pulled off his cowl to reveal the face of a playboy and wiped a hand down his sweaty face; the cave offered little ventilation. He stared at the screen for a moment before returning to hacking into the Arkham Asylum files, looking pointedly for Dr. Crane, A.K.A. Scarecrow. He barely noticed the elderly butler come from the secret entrance and down the stairs, balancing a tray of tea and biscuits. Bruce finally took note of Alfred when the butler was standing next to the computer consol.

"Master Bruce, do you not think it best if you get some rest now? It's been nearly two days since I last saw you take your leave of this cave…" Alfred poured the Dark Knight a cup of caffeinated tea.

"I need to find Scarecrow before he unleashes anymore fear toxin. You know last time he tried anything like that, Gotham was nearly declared a total war zone, unfit for anyone living and nonliving!" Batman accepted the cup of tea without taking his eyes off the monitor.

"Mm, yes. But don't you think you'd be of a greater advantage if you rested up some, sir? After all, you don't want to fall asleep while battling this Scarecrow…" Alfred busied himself with finding a table to set the tray down on.

"Yes, yes, in a moment, Alfred…" Bruce scrolled through the files and came upon Dr. Crane's. He eagerly clicked it.

In that time frame, Alfred had already set the tray down not too far from the console and was now pouring himself a cup of tea. He sipped the warm liquid casually as Bruce scanned the file on the screen.

"Nothing! Ugh, he hasn't been sighted anywhere and there are absolutely no leads as to where he could have gotten off to!" Bruce rubbed his tired eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is useless!"

Alfred merrily grunted in agreement and sipped his tea some more. "Now, Master Bruce, won't you get some sleep now?"

Bruce seemed ready to comply when, much to Alfred's chagrin, the communicator start buzzing. Bruce immediately placed his cowl back on, going straight to being Batman. Alfred sighed, defeated, and gathered up his tray to head back into the mansion. "I will be upstairs if you need anything…" Alfred announced sadly.

"Thank you, Alfred." Was the curt reply. Batman pushed the accept button on his keyboard and the screen was filled with the grim face of Superman.

"Batman, we need you ASAP." Batman looked reluctant; but any doubts he had were soon squashed by the Man of Steel's next words: "We've found Scarecrow."

Batman straightened. "I'll be right there."

Superman nodded grimly before looking off screen. He grimaced and turned back to the communicator. "You'll need to prepare for the worst…"

Batman frowned-well, frowned more than he already was. "Why? What's happened?"

"It's Green Arrow; he's dying."

.._~_

**Icey: OMG, GREEN ARROW! Sorry it's so short but I wanted the fight scene all in one chapter than making this one SUPER long or cutting the fighting off. :D**

**Roy: YOU'RE GOING TO KILL GREEN ARROW?**

**Icey: M'be…**

**Robin: You're messed up…**

**Icey: Cha, I guess…**


End file.
